Jeremy Corbyn, the new Labour party leader has breathed new life into the debate over renationalisation of the energy industry.
While Corbyn’s energy policies have never overtly mentioned plans for renationalisation, he has made it clear that it is his “personal wish”.
He stated: “I would want the public ownership of the gas and the National Grid … [and] I would personally wish that the big six were under public control, or public ownership in some form.”
While we believe some of his ideas are fantastical – a renationalisation of the big six would cost as much as £185 billion – the public seem to be showing support for his far-left policies including renationalisation of rail services.
His personal desire to see a similar change for the energy industry, may be far from becoming government policy but his views seem set to raise the profile of the debate after consumers are becoming more and more disgruntled over rising energy prices.
A recent report from CMA suggested that the Big Six had been overcharging customers for years so a new approach to energy is definitely required to inspire trust in the market again.
Former Labour MP and shadow energy minister Tom Greatrex explained:
“Utilities should not dismiss the reasons why calls to renationalise are popular with many, and should be focusing relentlessly on demonstrating to customers a much improved approach.”
While renationalisation is probably not on the cards, Corbyn is calling for “a fundamental shift” to reduce consumption and increase decentralised, community-owned low carbon energy.
We’ll be interested to see how this develops. We’re pleased to see the public sitting up and taking note of the energy industry. We hope there’ll be more desire to switch suppliers and make the market more competitive.
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