Starmer slammed as Tories claim eco policy risks jobs and security

Keir Starmer grilled on Labour’s plans for oil and gas

Sir Keir Starmer was ridiculed ­on Monday over a proposed ban on gas and oil exploration that could cost the UK £87billion.

The Labour leader was attacked over his links to protest groups Extinction Rebellion and Just ­Stop Oil as he unveiled an energy plan that even Left-wing trade unions slated.

Sir Keir announced he would end the ban on onshore windfarms within months of entering government to allow new turbines to be placed across the country.

But critics warned there was a risk that Britain would end up relying on “undemocratic regimes with dodgy human rights” for its power.

Energy Secretary Grant Shapps said: “Today Keir Starmer waved the white flag to Just Stop Oil – ­surrendering our economy and security to criminal anarchists.

“His plan would cede British jobs and billions of pounds to tyrannical dictatorships like Russia and leave every British family unprotected from energy warfare.”

Ten Labour MPs have vowed to promote the policies of Extinction Rebellion, the protest group that regularly brings parts of the capital to a standstill. Labour has also been given more than £1.4million from entrepreneur Dale Vince, a major donor to Just Stop Oil.

A Tory Party spokesman said: “Labour have an energy surrender plan to abolish British oil and gas and an economic plan to saddle the British people with billions of debt and borrowing.

“Written and funded by the Just Stop Oil extremists, Labour’s energy policy appeases their eco-zealot paymasters and puts dictators like Putin in charge of setting the price of your energy bills.

“Only the Conservatives can be trusted to grow the economy whilst delivering secure British power.

“With a five-fold increase in renewables since 2010, the first new nuclear power station in a generation and a plan to seize the green tech market, creating thousands of jobs.”

Tory analysis revealed that banning all new oil and gas projects would wipe an estimated £87billion from UK revenues.

Offshore Energies UK has warned that Labour’s proposals put 215,000 jobs at risk, while trade unions have warned the plan is naive.

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Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Oil and gas workers need concrete, fully costed plans that will provide cast-iron guarantees that they will not be thrown under ­a bus in the transition to net zero.”

She said there can be “no room for any equivocation, promises are not enough”. Ms Graham added: “Of course, we need a government that is going to be really bold on investment in a net zero future and Keir Starmer is right that British wind turbines should be built in Britain.

“But that is also true of oil and gas. This will be part of the energy mix until at least 2050, whether we like it or not.

“We don’t want to end up losing UK jobs and then relying on supplies from other countries, including undemocratic regimes with dodgy human rights records.

“We are now told there will be no ‘cliff edge’ but we need real assurances on this.” Sir Keir set out Labour’s plans in a speech in Edinburgh, promising 50,000 jobs could be created in Scotland alone.

The Labour leader said: “I’m ­not going to give you a moral ­sermon about the urgency of climate change, everyone gets that argument.

“What I offer is a plan – a new course through stormy waters, a bridge to a better future. Let me say directly to those people in Scotland, nervous about the change this mission requires, I know the ghosts industrial change unearths.

“Deep down, we all know this has to happen eventually and that the only question is when. So, in all candour, the reality is this, the moment for decisive action is now.

“If we wait until North Sea oil and gas run out, the opportunities this change can bring for Scotland and your community will pass us by, and that would be a historic mistake.”

The plan allows households to get discounts on their bills if their area signs up to green initiatives.

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