Union for energy workers, GMB, says that Jeremy Corbyn’s energy and environmental policy will not generate the power needed to heat homes, keep the lights on and the economy functioning.

The Union was commenting on Corbyn’s energy and environment manifesto which was launched on September 7, outlining his target of generating 65% of energy in the UK from renewable sources by 2030.

GMB National Secretary for Energy, Justin Bowden, said that GMB is looking forward to examining the details of how this policy will actually meet the energy needs of the UK.

Bowden continued:  “Everyone gets how – over time – renewable energy sources have an important role to play in a sensibly conceived mixed energy policy.

“However wishful thinking doesn’t generate the power we need to heat homes, keep the lights on and the economy functioning; this means that until there are technological breakthroughs in carbon capture or solar storage then gas and nuclear power are the only reliable, low-carbon shows in town for all those days when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow.”

He said that limiting the UK’s options on achieving energy self-sufficiency by banning fracking is short-sighted and naïve as gas is four times cheaper than electricity, the main reason why more than 80% of homes use gas for heating, and access to gas is a crucial element of every fuel poverty strategy.

Bowden added: “While we are waiting with our fingers crossed for the technology to arrive, or quadrupling the size of the electricity infrastructure and asking everyone with a gas boiler to rip it out and replace it with an electric one, we should not be having to depend on Russia, Qatar, Kuwait or some combination of these regimes to supply us with gas to heat our homes and supply the gas for our crucial chemicals industry.”