Starmer demands “real action” as data shows 75,000 green jobs lost under Tories

Keir Starmer has called for “real action” and renewed his party’s demand for the government to provide rapid investment in green industries as figures show that 75,000 green jobs were lost under the Conservatives between 2014 and 2019.

Commenting on Office for National Statistics data today, which shows a loss of 33,800 direct and 41,400 indirect jobs in the supply chain for low-carbon and renewable sectors, the Labour leader warned that “we are at a critical moment”.

He argued that “tackling the climate crisis must be at the heart of everything we do”, adding: “In less than 100 days, COP26 will be over and our chance to keep the planet’s warming below 1.5 degrees will have either been grasped or abandoned.

“The UK must rise to this moment and lead by example. That means rapid action to create good, green jobs across the country. And it means a proper strategy to buy, make and sell more in Britain, to create good, unionised jobs in clean energy and through supply chains.”

Starmer is embarking on a two-day trip to Scotland as part of his summer programme of events, “taking Labour’s offer on the road and direct to voters”, and ahead of Glasgow hosting the climate summit COP26 in November.

“We’ve had a decade of broken promises on green jobs and climate action under the Conservatives. And we are going backwards in Scotland, too. For all the rhetoric, both parties have overseen a significant loss of green jobs,” he said today.

“Nobody here in the UK can afford for this issue to be yet another example of Boris Johnson bluster. We need real action, now. It is time for a green new deal.”

The SNP government predicted in 2010 that low-carbon jobs could reach 130,000 by 2020 but ONS data shows that there are now 21,400, down from 23,200 in 2014.

“I want Glasgow to be synonymous with world-leading action on climate change, but from both the Tories and the SNP, all we get is talk but no substance,” Scottish Labour Party leader Anas Sarwar said this evening.

“Nowhere is this failure clearer than the lack of green jobs. We need to urgently close the gap between promises and delivery. Only Labour, across the whole of the UK, will deliver the high skilled jobs that both our country and our planet so desperately need.”

A Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy spokesperson told LabourList that “the data from 2019 and 2014 cannot be compared as there was a change in how the survey was conducted”, adding: “In fact, the ONS has concluded that the low-carbon and renewable energy economy has remained stable.”

They said: “We have welcomed the recommendations put forward by the green jobs taskforce, which are a big step forward in delivering the skilled workers and green jobs essential for the UK’s transition to net zero. This will now be considered by the government, starting with the development of the our net-zero strategy, due to be published ahead of the UN’s climate summit COP26 in Glasgow this November.”

The government launched the green jobs taskforce, comprised of industry figures, experts and trade unions, in November last year after the Prime Minister unveiled his ten-point low-carbon plan. It published a report last month.

Recommendations included creating a new national organisation to help shape the transition to a green economy, establishing a ‘green carers launchpad’ and publishing a comprehensive net-zero strategy ahead of the COP26 summit.

But, writing in The Guardian ahead of his visit to Scotland, Starmer accused Boris Johnson of being “missing in action” on the climate emergency, arguing that a “credible government now would be demonstrating serious ambition”.

He also committed the party to achieving the “substantial majority” of greenhouse gas emission cuts by 2030 during an interview with The Independent on Tuesday, a pledge made by the previous Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Asked if he stood by his predecessor’s target, Starmer said: “Absolutely. Exactly the same as was in our 2019 manifesto. So the ambition – and not just the ambition, the determination and the commitment – of the Labour Party on the green new deal is just as strong now.”

His party set out its plan for a drive towards a clean economy focusing on the UK manufacturing sector last November, calling for a rapid stimulus package of at least £30bn over the next 18 months with dedicated funding to low-carbon industries.

The programme is aimed at recovering jobs, retraining workers via an emergency training programme to equip those affected by Covid unemployment, and rebuilding business with the creation of a national investment bank.

The opposition party also committed to “make, sell and buy more in Britain” earlier this year as Rachel Reeves unveiled a plan to raise standards, award more public contracts to British businesses and create “jobs of the future” in the UK.

“The decade ahead is crucial. From green jobs in manufacturing electric vehicles and offshore wind turbines, to fin tech, digital media and film, we must grow modern industries to build a long-term economy that provides good jobs and is fit for the future,” the Shadow Chancellor said at the time.