I’ll stop flow of funding to North Sea oil and gas, says Starmer
SIR KEIR STARMER has promised to stop investing in new British oil and gas fields if Labour wins the next election.
In a major departure from current government policy, the Labour leader ruled out funding for North Sea fossil fuels as he outlined the party’s green mission.
Addressing business leaders and policymakers at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Sir Keir called on countries to form a “clean power alliance” to rival the Opec group of oil exporting countries. Sir Keir claimed an alliance would help bring down energy bills.
“What we’ve said about oil and gas is that there does need to be a transition,” he said. “It will play its part during that transition but not new investment, not new fields up in the North Sea, because we need to go towards net zero, we need to ensure that renewable energy is where we go next.” Sir Keir also criticised Rishi Sunak’s absence in Switzerland, describing his own attendance alongside Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, as a “statement of intent” that Britain would be “open for business” under Labour.
He blamed the UK’S economic malaise on Mr Sunak’s lack of a growth plan. He said: “We’ve got all the attributes for investment, we just need to create the circumstances, the environment, in which we can change what I think is the drift.
“The fact that our Prime Minister is not here I think is evidence of the drift. And we intend to reverse that.”
Sir Keir and Ms Reeves are using a two-day charm offensive to meet senior bankers at all the top US banks. The shadow chancellor was spotted at drinks hosted by Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan chief executive, the most powerful banker in the US.
The Labour pair also met with executives at British banks HSBC and Lloyds, as well as senior leaders at power giants RWE and Drax.
The shadow chancellor attended a party hosted by public relations guru Matthew Freud at which Sting serenaded the crowd.
Labour’s energy proposals mark a sharp departure from current policy.
The UK has recently held a new round for oil and gas exploration licences and has declined to join an international pact to stop new oil and gas field developments.
Sir Keir said: “One of the things that I am proposing is a clean power alliance where countries that are in the advance when it comes to net-zero share information, co-operate and share investment with a view to driving the global prices down.
“So, this is an inverse Opec. Instead of trying to ensure prices stay at a certain level, it’s to drive them down, to see the common benefit, whether it’s in the UK or across the globe.”