Taxpayer-backed group donates to Labour

A GOVERNMENT-BACKED organisation that raises cash for net zero projects has donated support worth £100,000 to Labour.

The Green Finance Institute, which was set-up by former chancellor Lord Hammond with £2m of taxpayer cash in 2019, is advising Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, and Ed Miliband, the shadow energy secretary.

Donations of its services valued at £99,000 were unveiled by the Opposition last month, with the self-defined “action tank” agreeing to back Labour’s bid to create a National Wealth Fund.

The arrangement was disclosed in the MPs register of interests, where the Green Finance Institute is listed as “providing policy support”, suggesting it may be helping to shape Labour’s manifesto for the forthcoming election.

The institute’s involvement with Labour is likely to raise questions among Tory MPs, given its roots as a state-backed venture that features its Government links on its website. Labour’s decision to engage with it may also be indicative of its policies, should the party win power. The net zero group, which aims to galvanise private funding for green projects, has championed heat pumps and electric cars.

A GFI spokesman said it is “not a monetary donation”, adding that “it is providing services-in-kind to the Labour Party”. They added: “No taxpayer money is being used to support the development of the National Wealth Fund.”

A Labour Party spokesman said it engaged with “a wide range of independent organisations as part of our policy development work. Everything is declared in line with the rules.”