UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband used his speech on the last day of the Labour Party Conference on 1 October to set out a sweeping vision for the UK’s energy future, promising the ‘biggest investment in clean energy in British history’ and a transformation of the economy.

He highlighted progress already underway, including 10,000 jobs at Sizewell C, investment in Rolls-Royce small modular reactors (SMRs), nationwide funding for carbon capture and storage, and the lifting of the onshore wind ban. Solar capacity to power two million homes is being deployed, alongside rooftop panels on 200 schools and 200 hospitals, with more sites to follow, including 15 military sites that will also be equipped with micro-wind turbines.  

At the centre of Labour’s plans is Great British Energy, the UK’s first publicly-owned energy company in 70 years, tasked with cutting bills and accelerating the clean power transition.

Framing clean energy as the UK’s route out of high bills and reliance on global gas markets, Miliband reaffirmed Labour’s target of clean power by 2030. He promised that the transition would deliver ‘tens of thousands of skilled jobs’ across the country, from offshore wind and hydrogen to nuclear and carbon capture, while supporting existing industrial sectors. A new Fair Work Charter will tie public subsidies to strong labour standards, with fair pay, union access and protection for offshore workers.

Highlighting the government’s Warm Homes Plan to tackle fuel poverty through insulation, batteries and solar, Miliband said the Warm Home Discount would be extended to nearly three million families this winter.

Miliband also confirmed plans to bring forward legislation to end new onshore oil and gas licensing in England, including a ban on fracking.  

Positioning Labour’s energy mission as both economic and political, Miliband drew a sharp contrast with Reform UK, which he accused of ‘waging war on clean energy’ and threatening Britain’s climate commitments. Clean energy was the route to lower bills, good jobs and energy security, he said.

Miliband’s announcements were warmly welcomed by environmental campaigners. ‘Ministers are right to focus on renewable energy as our best chance to create jobs, boost our energy independence and protect households from the turbulence of gas markets,’ said Greenpeace UK’s Angharad Hopkinson. She added: ‘The government is absolutely right to ban fracking for good. [It] is polluting, deeply unpopular, and even if it could be made to work in the UK, it’ll do nothing to lower energy bills.’  

Lib Dems align with Labour’s net zero by 2050 goal

Earlier in the week, the Liberal Democrat Party unveiled its new energy and climate policy, positioning the transition to net zero as both an environmental necessity and an economic opportunity. A key change was the scrapping of its previous 2045 net zero target and aligning with the current Labour government’s net zero by 2050 mission. It blamed ‘inaction’ under the previous Conservative government for making the 2045 goal ‘no longer practically possible’.

The Lib Dems also support the Labour government’s 100% clean power by 2030 ambition, to be supported by major investment in offshore wind, solar and community energy, alongside grid upgrades and a £1bn commitment to bury electricity cables in sensitive areas.

The Party also backs the development of the nuclear sector, albeit more cautiously.  

The Lib Dems also plan to accelerate home energy upgrades, with large-scale insulation, widespread heat pump deployment, and a ban on new gas boilers from 2035. Minimum energy efficiency standards would be applied across all buildings within 15 years, with landlords required to meet higher performance thresholds. The Party also proposes a social electricity tariff for low-income families, free home improvements for the most vulnerable, and expanded grants and rebates.  

The Lib Dems also back a ban on new onshore oil and gas production, with ‘emissions from extraction to be reduced’.

Conservatives distance themselves from green consensus

In sharp contrast, ahead of this week’s Conservative Party’s annual conference, leader Kemi Badenoch declared an abrupt break with cross-party consensus by vowing to repeal the Climate Change Act 2008, eliminate legally binding carbon budgets, and abandon the UK’s net zero by 2050 target. As reported in The Guardian, she argued that the current energy regime had produced high energy costs, stifled industrial growth, and encouraged offshoring, all while failing to deliver meaningful innovation. Badenoch has also indicated she wants to eliminate electric car targets and gas boiler phase-out plans.

The shift in policy reflects deeper divisions within the Conservative Party, between MPs who see clean energy as an industrial opportunity and those who view climate policy as an economic burden.  

Think-tanks on the right welcomed Badenoch’s announcement. Andy Mayer, Energy Analyst at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said repeal would be ‘a first step back to sanity’ after years of what he called central planning mistakes. ‘It has encouraged offshoring, undermined investment in our own resources… and created a duplicate energy system of renewables backed by inefficient gas generation,’ he argued.

Reform seeking to weaponise energy debate

Meanwhile, the Reform UK party is seeking to weaponise energy policy as a core identity issue. Leader Richard Tice has repeatedly rejected the UK’s climate targets, calling them ‘net zero fantasies’ that inflate household bills. The Party proposes abolishing subsidy support for renewables, scrapping the 2050 net zero target, fast-tracking fossil fuel extraction, sanctioning new gas-fired baseload power and a moratorium on new wind farms.

While Reform remains the smaller political party in the UK, its rhetoric resonates among voters disillusioned with rising costs and distrustful of climate commitments.  

The road ahead

For the UK energy sector, the increasingly politicised debate raises questions about the stability of long-term policy. Investors and developers warn that shifting party positions could undermine confidence in the delivery of projects, especially in offshore wind and grid infrastructure where planning and financing cycles run for decades.

The debate underscores a new reality: energy is no longer just about technology, regulation or markets – it is now a central axis of political identity and voter choice. The outcome will shape not just the UK’s climate trajectory, but also its industrial future and role in the global energy transition.