Has Labour’s Green Investment Plans U-Turn Done the Party Harm?

This week Labour confirmed what was looking like a near inevitability. It formally announced that its plans to spend £28 billion a year on its green investment plans would be cut to £15 billion, with just a third of it being new money. 

Blaming the state of the economy under the Conservatives for the decision, Labour Leader, Sir Keir Starmer, said: “We announced the £28bn two and a half years or so ago, when interest rates were very, very low. Since then, Liz Truss crashed the economy and other damage has been done. [Interest rates] are now very, very high – interest on government debt is already tens of billions of pounds a year. We’ve always said we have to be within the fiscal rules and fiscal rules come first.”

Critics on the left of the party expressed dismay at the decision, arguing that it amounted to a surrender to Conservative attacks that the £28 billion figure was simply not affordable without tax rises and more debt.

Sharon Graham, General Secretary of Unite the Union argued: “Britain needs more not less investment and there is still much to do in order for Labour to gain the trust of workers impacted by net zero. If Labour keep getting scared off by Tory attacks, they will end up outsourcing their policy making to the Conservatives. This is the time to back Britain and make different choices.”

But what does the public make of the decision?

According to polling by Opinium for the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, views are finally balanced, with 34% of those polled supporting the decision, compared to 36% who oppose it.

Interestingly, among both those planning to vote Labour at the next election and those planning to vote Conservative, higher proportions support the change in policy than oppose it.

That said, the reasons for the change given by Keir Starmer are not shared by the public as a whole. According to the data, whilst 25% argue that the policy change shows Labour would be responsible with the public finances, 43% say it shows the party “has no real plan for what it would do differently if it wins power.” However, among those planning to vote Labour at the next election, 48% say the decision shows the party will be fiscally responsible, whilst just 19% say it shows the party has no plans to do things differently to the Conservatives if it wins the election.

Asked which of the two main parties they most trusted on the issue of climate change and the environment, 27% said Labour, compared to 18% saying the Conservatives. However, 42% said they trusted neither party on the issue.

But on the all-important issue of voting intentions, the announcement doesn’t seem to have done Labour’s overall electoral prospects huge amounts of harm. According to Opinium’s latest fortnightly poll for The Observer, Labour is unchanged from a fortnight ago on 43% when it comes to headline voting intentions, with the Conservatives down two points on 25%.

Interestingly, whilst the Liberal Democrats come third on 11%, Opinium puts Reform UK only just behind them on 10%. It is yet another sign that even if the party does not get anyone elected to Parliament given the first past-the-post electrical system, Reform UK has the ability to cause major problems for the Conservatives.

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