LIVERPOOL, England — Gary Smith, the general secretary of the GMB union, has urged Labour to rethink its energy policy, or risk losing support among working class communities.
Speaking in the POLITICO Pub at Labour conference Tuesday, Smith said the government was not “in the right place” on its energy policy as he warned the approach could alienate swathes of its working class supporters.
“Moving to net zero is not cheap. It’s not going to be easy, and if you get it wrong it has huge consequences for the economy and for working people,” he said.
“The truth is that at the moment, the whole green thing, the net nero thing, is switching working class communities off. People are not buying it.”
His comments come ahead of a decision on Labour’s plans for the North Sea after the government proposed a ban on new oil drilling licenses.
But Smith urged Labour not to “fudge” the policy, warning that its approach was already costing the party support ahead of crunch Scottish Parliament elections next year.
“If they don’t listen to us, they’re going to face some harsh realities,” the union boss warned.
The GMB general secretary also hit out at plans to increase the use of electric heating options as “just rubbish,” adding they would not be possible to roll out on a large scale. And ministers, he argued, were still “misunderstanding” the prospect of the alternative fuel approach being an effective way to reduce the U.K.’s reliance on gas.
“I’m pragmatic and a realist. We’re going to need oil and gas for a long time to come. This nonsense that we’re moving to electric heat anytime soon is rubbish,” he said. “The number of people connecting to the gas grid is going up. The AI data centers are going to need gas for energy. That’s the truth.”
And Smith said there were lessons to be learnt from U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance’s ability to connect with working class communities who feel “angry” about being abandoned by the mainstream political system.
“There is stuff we need to learn from that, and that’s about listening to working class people’s concerns. People are not voting for cheap TVs and cheap training shoes anymore… People want jobs back. They want opportunity back. They want the standard of living to be rising again,” he said.
“So, does the prime minister learn a lot from Trump? No, but what we do need to get better at is connecting and listening to working class people.”
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