Public Affairs Account Executive, Aleksandra Cernisova, reflects on the King’s Speech and what it means for the Clean Growth agenda. 19th July 2024 

 

As part of the time-honoured State Opening of Parliament ceremony on the morning of July 17th, King Charles III delivered a speech outlining the new UK Labour Government’s legislative plans for the year ahead.  

In line with the Labour manifesto’s strong rhetoric in favour of ‘Change’, the speech promised growth, with the current planning regime said to be a major barrier to this.  

On that basis, the Speech set out planning reform and a Planning and Infrastructure Bill that will streamline the delivery process of critical infrastructure, accelerate grid upgrades and – ultimately – unlock delivery of Labour’s 2030 Clean Power Mission.  

 

Clean Power Mission 2030 

Clean Power Mission appears to be the theme of Labour’s first week in office.  

Within their first few days, the new Cabinet has lifted the de facto ban on onshore wind, making it easier for projects to get consent. They have also appointed former chief of the Climate Change Committee – Chris Stark – to head the new control centre tasked with delivering Clean Power Mission.   

Keir Starmer has shown this ‘clean power momentum’ shows no signs of waning as the King’s Speech also unveiled a raft of new Bills aimed at boosting renewables in a bid to achieve Labour’s pledge to “double onshore wind, triple solar power and quadruple offshore wind by 2030.” 

These include:  

• National Wealth Fund Bill  
• Great British Energy Bill  
• Crown Estate Bill  

 

National Wealth Fund Bill  

A key pledge in the Labour Manifesto, the National Wealth Fund was launched early last week with the aim of boosting investment in national infrastructure, such as ports, carbon capture, gigafactories and hydrogen.  

Capitalised with £7.3bn in state funds, the NWF will start by investing in ports and renewable energy, mobilising additional private sector investment and generating returns for taxpayers. 

The UK Government will now legislate to put the NWF on a permanent statutory footing.  

Despite this, work has already begun around aligning the UK Infrastructure Bank and the British Business Bank to simplify investment landscape.  

 

Great British Energy Bill 

Labour is pushing ahead with plans to launch its much-anticipated state-owned energy company by announcing the Great British Energy Bill. 

Backed up with £8.3bn of state funds, GB Energy will develop, own and operate clean power projects, investing in partnership with the private sector.  

Its budget will be used to buy equity stakes in energy projects and supply chains.  

This will be the first time the UK Government will be a direct player in the energy market since the late 1980s.  

As GB Energy will work with the private sector to co-invest in energy, questions have been raised around compatibility with its Welsh counterpart – Ynni Cymru.  

 

Crown Estate Bill  

The Crown Estate Bill will modernise the Crown Estate by granting it the power to borrow and widening its existing investment remit.  

This will see the Crown Estate being able to invest in activities which complement its strategy and support wider policy objectives. This could include digital technologies to support offshore energy development and port infrastructure. 

This, however, is unlikely to settle the Crown Estate debate in  in Wales, as Plaid Cymru continue to push for full devolution of the Crown Estate.  

 

What does it mean? 

It is clear that Labour’s Clean Power Mission sits at the heart of their legislative agenda for the year ahead.  

Economic growth is clearly seen as going hand in hand with clean growth.  

With an impressive overall majority in the House of Commons, it is expected that Labour will succeed in getting the proposed legislation through Parliament, marking the age of reform in planning, infrastructure and supply chain investment.  

However, reforms will likely face significant scrutiny from opposition on both sides of the border.  

Labour’s ability to agree and work cross-border will once again be challenged by Plaid Cymru, who will continue pushing for the full devolution of the Crown Estate.  

Ynni Cymru’s role against the backdrop of Great British Energy will also likely be raised again.  

Similarly, expect state involvement via GB Energy and the National Wealth Fund to result in vocal opposition from the Conservatives. 

At a local level, we could well see communities put up a fight if the new Planning and Infrastructure Bill results in ‘critical infrastructure’ being proposed near their homes and communities. We could therefore see vocal support for communities from some newly elected Labour MPs in places that were previously seen as strong Conservative areas.  

Irrespective of where the opposition comes from, it is clear that Keir Starmer’s newly elected UK Labour Government plan to hit the ground running when making inroads to achieving Net Zero.