Guido was scrolling on the internet and wanted to see how Miliband’s much-vaunted GB Energy is getting along after its founding hiring run flopped with almost zero interest from applicants. No luck – Labour has taken down the GB Energy website…
Now the public can’t admire the stock image logo any more – the link http://great-british-energy.org.uk/redirects to boring updates on the project over at the gov.uk website. Gone are testimonials from members of the public and a postcode search feature to see: “How will it help in my area?” Could Labour not think of any answers to that one now the election’s over?
Thankfully the old website is still available on the internet archive. Now Labour has given up on saying energy bills will fall by £300 GB Energy is increasingly looking like just another stunt…
Ed Miliband got a bit ahead of himself today, boldly claiming that Labour had “won the argument” on green policies. The classic Corbyn defeat line…
Not only has the GB Energy bill not actually been passed in parliament yet, (nor can ministers actually say how much it will cost), the plans have so far only shown to be hugely expensive. New clean energy projects will land taxpayers with a £10 billion cost, while Net Zero Watch research suggests a loophole in Government contracts could cost households up to £180 million a year. Meanwhile, oil and gas industry leaders warn Miliband’s plans spell disaster for UK investment and jobs in the energy sector, sending the UK down a path of worrying reliance on foreign imports. All the while Labour’s much-feared capital gains tax raid is deterring green energy investors, whom Labour are relying on, from bankrolling the plan. Not the first time Miliband has taken a misplaced victory lap…
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…
The government has started hiring on LinkedIn for state energy investment vehicle GB Energy through DESNZ. So far thirteen mid-level positions are being advertised, all for £52,985 and spread across London, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh and Salford. £688,805 in taxpayer-funded salaries up for grabs…
All the job adverts say GB Energy only wants its progenitor staff in the office 40-60% of the times and offers “a variety of flexible working options” which includes working from home. On top of that comes a neat £14,305 towards being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Meanwhile – up go the energy bills…
William Yarwood, media campaign manager of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, sounds a warning note:
“GB Energy has barely started walking and the civil service is already hiring copious carers to babysit it while it teeths. The government needs to make sure that GB Energy does not turn into a taxpayer funded jolly for busy body bureaucrats.”
Interviews take place on the 16th of next month over Microsoft Teams. Start as you mean to go on…
Ofgem has announced this morning energy bills are to rise by £149 a year from October as it raises the price cap to £1,717. A 10% hike…
Starmer may have outlasted Truss on the number of days held in office, though this is something he’s sure to not be celebrating. Especially as Starmer was so quick to slam the Tories in 2022 when the cap rose, “devastating” people across the country. And as usual promising the land of milk and honey with Labour’s much-publicised “fully costed plan to freeze energy bills“. Another U-Turn there…
Labour issued a panicked 1,334-word “Political Briefing” press release this morning pointing the finger squarely at the Tories, (despite the energy cap actually being lowered in the last few months of Sunak’s government). Ed Miliband took to X to blast the “toxic legacy” they left behind. It’s worth noting that during the election Miliband banged on about Labour policies saving households £300 a year. He’s been told from above to drop that promise now…
National Grid executives are sounding the alarm, predicting blackouts in the South East by 2028 due to the transition to reliance on renewable energy. This dire warning comes as no surprise to Guido, who has long questioned Labour’s reckless rush towards their utopian Net Zero dream…
Blame for this looming crisis is laid squarely at the feet of the erratic wind and solar power schemes that Labour so fervently champions. Electricity supply from renewables is set to skyrocket this decade under Labour’s push to make the power grid Net Zero by 2030. Industry leaders also point to a set of outdated market rules that are only making the bottlenecks worse. More red tape to go green over growth…
Electricity System Operator (ESO) executives are reportedly deeply “worried about keeping the lights on” in the South East with a source telling the Telegraph that “there will be blackouts in the South East by 2028”. Ed Miliband’s dash to decarbonise and rely on wind and solar plants – which are being mostly built in the North – making it difficult to transmit power across the country. With ongoing strikes and the threat of blackouts, are Labour taking us back to the 70s?
UPDATE: An ESO spokesman responds:
“We refute this categorically. We are not forecasting blackouts. As a prudent system operator we regularly assess the future challenges to decarbonising Great Britain’s electricity system whilst maintaining security of supply and managing cost. The ESO’s analysis in respect of zonal pricing supports the strategic build out and operation of Britain’s electricity system in a manner that is efficient and ensures that all networks and assets are utilized [sic] to their maximum. The ESO’s analysis does not show there will be blackouts because of current market arrangements. It indicates that we will need to continue to use our operational toolkit to balance the electricity system on a national basis. However, we expect that reforms to the wholesale electricity market, the accelerated delivery of electricity networks, and delivery of new generation and storage, will create a more efficient electricity system for the future.”
Guido thinks he means by “zonal pricing” that prices will have to go up in the South East if we don’t want power cuts.
