UK Labour Party’s About-Face on Its Green Plan Isn’t a Good Look
Dialing back its green platform sends a mixed message when clarity is crucial.
Photographer: Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images (2023)
Labour’s £28 billion Green Prosperity Plan is dying before it even lived.
After weeks of speculation over the opposition party’s flagship spending plan, Darren Jones, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, confirmed on Friday that the commitment had been ditched. Instead, the size of the budget for green projects would be decided if the party wins the next election, and would depend on individual programs as well as the state of the economy. Deputy leader Angela Rayner said that, while the party would like to spend £28 billion ($35 billion) a year on green investment, “it’s not about just throwing a figure out there willy-nilly, and saying we’ll just put that in.”