Last month the government fired off thirteen job adverts for positions that will form the foundation of its flagship state energy investment vehicle GB Energy through DESNZ. £688,805 in taxpayer-funded salaries were up for grabs, including generous work from home provisions and a defined benefit civil service pension. Despite all those goodies it looks like there isn’t much enthusiasm for Miliband’s pet project…

The applications have now closed and the numbers are far from encouraging. The “Development Lead” position in London was the only one to receive more than a hundred applications. The average number of applications for the other six locations is a pitiful 50. In Aberdeen, the HQ of GB Energy, only 44 people bothered to apply for the job…

The situation is even worse for GB Energy’s “Engagement Lead”, which has averaged a measly 38 applications across the UK. Applicants should be in the high hundreds for positions like this. The energy’s not there…