Beleaguered Labour handed a timely boost by Super Ed

With the 'green' sector now growing at three times that of the British economy, the energy secretary's ‘net zero' drive is already paying unexpected dividends

- James Moore

Whisper it, but has hopeless Ed Miliband actually got something right? According to a new report, the green economy is not only booming on his watch as energy secretary, it is growing at three times the rate of Britain’s economy at large.

In its “The Future is Green” report, the CBI says the “net zero” sector grew by 10 per cent last year, contributing an impressive £83.1bn in gross value added (GVA).

It’s a serious piece of good news for the beleaguered Labour government – and it’s almost single-handedly down to the stewardship of former party leader Miliband, who last year came in for heavy criticism for announcing that £22bn was to be spent on carbon capture and storage, a new and, as yet, unproven green technology.

It was only last month that chancellor Rachel Reeves, staring down the barrel at a flatlining economy, downgraded forecasts and the highest inflation level in 10 months, vowed to “go further and faster” to kickstart economic growth, this administration's do-or-die buzzword. How lucky, then, that Super Ed is on hand to help.