The UK’s Green Parties have hit out at Labour’s decision to abandon its planned £28 billion investment in the green transition.
The Scottish Greens said Labour has ‘betrayed our climate’, and accused Keir Starmer of throwing future generations under a ‘diesel engine bus’.
Scottish Green Party co-leader Lorna Slater said: “Labour have betrayed our climate, and they have betrayed Scottish voters. This investment was urgently needed to put us back on track to meeting our climate commitments and to renew our economy. This is a catastrophic mistake that will not be forgotten given the far reaching consequences it will have.
“At a stroke Keir Starmer has thrown future generations under a diesel engine bus, and shredded any commitment his party had towards building a greener economy and supporting a just transition. It is clear they cannot be trusted to take the tough decisions that are needed to ensure a liveable planet, when they are ditching all kinds of previous policies at a rate of knots.”
Green Party of England and Wales co-leader Carla Denyer, meanwhile, called the move a ‘massive backward step’. She said: “This is a massive backward step – for the climate, for the economy and for good quality jobs. Both the security of our planet for future generations and the UK’s future prosperity is dependent on greening our economy and that requires large scale investment.
“Labour have chosen to wear their fiscal rules as a millstone around their neck. A different approach through tax reforms, in particular by introducing a wealth tax on the super-rich, could help pay for the green transition. There is more than enough money in the economy to pay for this. Indeed, the Green Party would go further and faster, investing at least double what Labour originally pledged, so we can turbo charge the transition to a green economy.
“Greens recognise that investing in a green future will provide people with economic, social and environmental security. By decarbonising industry, insulating buildings, and ramping up renewable energy infrastructure, the UK can drastically reduce emissions, cut household bills and create new, good quality, well-paid and secure jobs in every corner of the country.
“Investing in this secure future is a political choice. By ditching its green investment plan, and making a series of other U-turns, Labour has clearly signalled that it is turning its back on a fairer, greener future. It is clear we are going to need a group of Green MPs in parliament after the next election pushing whoever forms the next government to do the right thing.”
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