Starmer vows to tackle Labour MPs and councils blocking GB Energy grid

Keir Starmer has pledged to take on Labour MPs and councils that try to block the networks of pylons needed to deliver a planned new generation of clean electricity, as he promised the government's plans would lower people's bills in this parliament.

- Peter Walker

Formally launching GB Energy, the state-run green energy generation company-one of his main policies the prime minister said there was a need to move rapidly on new onshore and offshore wind because of the last government's inaction.

Speaking at a wind turbine factory in Widnes, Cheshire, Starmer set out the plan to build enough offshore wind turbines over the next five years to power 20m homes, part of a tie-up with the crown estate.

Answering media questions after his speech, watched by Juergen Maier, the former Siemens UK boss who has been announced as the chair of GB Energy, Starmer was asked if he could guarantee ministers would push for power to be distributed using overground lines rather than underground ones, which are much more expensive and take considerably longer to build.

There are already planning battles against overground lines in places including East Anglia and Lincolnshire, with some Labour candidates at the general election saying they opposed pylon schemes.