Starmer may drop key green target in effort to curtail bills

Ministers are considering dropping one of their central green pledges in an effort to keep energy bills down, sources have told the Guardian.

- Kiran Stacey Helena Horton

Government insiders say Keir Starmer is prepared to miss his own target of removing almost all fossil fuels from the UK’s electricity supply by 2030 if doing so proves much more expensive than building gas power instead.

The issue will come to a head within weeks as Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, decides how much renewable energy to commission for the next few years. Allies say Miliband is willing to buy less than experts say is needed to hit the 2030 target, if paying for them would push energy bills much higher than their current levels.

Concern has been growing in Downing Street that the cost of living is fuelling the rise of Reform UK, which leads national polls and is predicted to take the Welsh Senedd seat of Caerphilly in today’s byelection.

One government insider said: “There is a choice about what price you're willing to pay for the next [renewables] auction round, which is key to hitting 2030. If it comes to a choice between hitting the target and overpaying, or missing it and keeping costs down, we will miss it.”

Officials pointed to comments made by Miliband himself last week, when he told an energy industry conference: “We won’t buy at any price. And if specific technologies aren’t competitive, we will look elsewhere. We will take the long-term decisions to secure the right amount of capacity at the right price for the country.”