Miliband: Tories 'betrayed' next generation on energy

Exclusive Minister hits out at Badenoch's net zero 'surrender'

- Pippa Crerar

The government is "up for the fight" over net zero, Ed Miliband has said, accusing the Conservatives and Reform UK of "a total desertion and betrayal" of future generations by failing to tackle the climate crisis.

After a turbulent week for Labour in which it has been accused of abandoning its values by slashing disability benefits, the energy secretary sought to focus attention on the party's plans for the green energy transition.

The first major project for publicly owned Great British Energy (GBE) will fund solar panels on the roofs of hundreds of schools and hospitals, in an effort to save hundreds of millions of pounds on energy bills and free up cash to reinvest in frontline services.

The £200m investment also includes funding for councils and community groups to build local clean power projects, such as community-owned onshore wind, rooftop solar and hydro power in rivers.

Amid some scepticism internally over No 10's commitment to the green agenda, Miliband insisted that the prime minister, Keir Starmer, and chancellor, Rachel Reeves, were "100%" behind it, despite fears among some Labour MPs they could retreat on both funding and targets under political pressure.

"It's absolutely central to their economic growth and energy security, as well as climate agenda... So as far as I'm concerned, they are 100% committed to this agenda," he said.

The senior cabinet minister pledged to drive through Labour's manifesto plans despite attacks from the rightwing parties, arguing that the British public was fully behind climate action as long as it guaranteed energy security, jobs and lower bills.

Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, dismayed green Tories this week by declaring the UK's target to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 was "impossible" to achieve without "a serious drop in our living standards or by bankrupting us".