Great British Energy will be welcome

Promise to invest in ‘cheap, clean, homegrown energy’ ticks every box but £8.3bn over a parliament is not game-changing

Great British Energy, Labour’s proposed publicly owned energy company, scores well with voters, according to the pollsters, and one can understand why. The promise to invest in “cheap, clean, homegrown energy, to cut bills for families and rebuild the strength of British industry” ticks every imaginable box. What’s not to like?

And, since the privatised utilities are never going to win a popularity contest (especially when the boss of British Gas’s owner is being paid £8m), the publicly-owned structure of GB Energy is almost a cherry on top. Other countries have state-owned firms making good profits in the UK energy market. Now the home side will be on the pitch.