EXCLUSIVE: Ed Miliband says Tory and Reform net zero critics are 'anti-worker' as he unveils green jobs bonanza
The Energy and Net-zero Secretary tore into the Tories and Reform, accusing them of importing a culture war from the US instead of offering a credible plan to bring bills down
Tory and Reform opposition to net zero plans is anti-worker and anti-business, Ed Miliband has claimed.
The Energy and Net-zero Secretary tore into the Tories and Reform, accusing them of importing a culture war from the US instead of offering a credible plan to bring bills down. Mr Miliband was speaking to the Sunday Mirror while unveiling a green energy jobs bonanza that will see 400,000 extra roles in the green economy by 2030.
Pledging to deliver for Labour ’s “heartland communities”, Mr Miliband also laid down the gauntlet to Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch, and warned their resistance to net zero policies left thousands of jobs at risk.
Today the Government published its comprehensive national plan to train up the next generation of clean energy workers, with employment expected to double to 860,000 by 2030, in an announcement welcomed by a series of major unions.
Mr Miliband said: “The message of this clean energy jobs plan to Mirror readers is we're gonna deliver for our heartland communities, and that's what these jobs will do.
“Reform has said they want to wage war on green energy investment, and that means waging war on these jobs, on the Siemens workers and the jobs in Hull, on the new jobs at the cable factory in Scotland, at the jobs in the Isle of Wight marking wind turbines, at the carbon capture and storage in Teesside.
“All of these jobs are being created, they’re at risk under a different government and they are absolutely core to our vision of the future and how we change the country.
“We know that the Net Zero economy grew three times faster than the economy as a whole last year. It's anti-business, it's anti-worker, it's totally betraying young people and the future of young people.”
The plan also includes landmark proposals to ensure that jobs in the clean energy sector have world class pay, terms and conditions.
Mr Miliband also accused the Tories and Reform of “importing a culture war from the US”.
Insisting Labour were on the side of working people, he said: “I think they have an incredibly patronising view of my constituents. They try to pretend that my constituents don’t care about what kind of future they leave to their kids and grandkids, in terms of climate change and they're wrong.”
The senior minister claimed the scheme was part of a vision for a new economy, and one that was fundamentally Labour in its values.
He explained: “For 30 of the last 40 years we’ve had Tory ideas, trickle down economics and austerity, which have ruined our economy for working people.
“We are about putting working people back at the centre of our economy and helping them transform their lives for the better and giving prospects for their future.
“This is about a vision of hope, not fantastical hope, but real grounded hope and I think that's what people want.”
The announcement was welcomed by a large number of unions, including the TUC, GMB, the RMT, as well as business bodies such as ScottishPower, E.ON UK and the CBI.
Paul Nowak, General Secretary of the TUC, said: “After years of previous governments starving the British industry of investment, this represents a serious plan to start to rebuild our industrial heartlands and deliver quality jobs in clean energy - as well as supporting even more in supply chains right across the country.”