Party manifestos: Energy transition to play a "central role" in UK election

People across the UK are preparing to head to the polls in less than two weeks on July 4, with climate change and energy security being one of the key and most important issues for voters. 

The UK's net-zero targets are in the spotlight, and many of the parties have set out their plans to accelerate the transition to clean energy fuels and reducing carbon emissions.

We have analysed the manifestos of five parties, summarising the key differences (and, in some cases, similarities) in approach and proposed policy.

Labour

The Labour Party have pledged to make the UK a “clean energy superpower” through their Green Prosperity Plan. Their goals include doubling onshore wind, tripling solar power, and quadrupling offshore wind: all by 2030. The key pillars they have outlined to achieve their energy goals are listed below.

1. Establishing Great British Energy, a state owned energy company to invest in clean energy. This would be capitalised with £8.3 billion over the next Parliament. 
2. Setting up a National Wealth Fund with £7.3 billion in public funding, which would invest in clean energy technology. The manifesto pledges £1 billion from this fund to “accelerate the deployment of carbon capture” and £500 million to “support the manufacturing of green hydrogen”. The remaining funds would be used for non-energy pursuits such as building infrastructure. 
3. Awarding a British Jobs Bonus to clean energy developers to incentivise companies who offer “good jobs, terms and conditions” and build their manufacturing supply chains in the UK.
4. Launching the Warm Homes Plan which would double planned government investment, aiming to upgrade five million homes with insulation and other improvements like solar panels, batteries and low carbon heating.

Each of the above would be funded through the Energy Profits Levy, also known as the “windfall tax” on oil and gas companies, which Labour would: increase by 3%; extend to the end of the next parliament; and remove the investment allowances from. 

Finally, Labour has pledged to make the UK the “green finance capital of the world” by mandating UK-regulated financial institutions to deploy transition plans that align with the Paris Agreement.  

Conservatives

The Conservative Party have pledged to establish annual licensing rounds for oil and gas production, and open new gas power stations to supplement renewable energy. They would also invest £1.1 billion into the “Green Industries Growth Accelerator” to support British manufacturing/supply chains. Their energy policy also focuses on nuclear, pledging to approve two new fleets of SMRs (Small Nuclear Reactors) and to “halve the time it takes for new nuclear reactors to be approved”. 

In terms of home insulation and energy efficiency, the Conservatives have pledged to invest £6 billion with the goal of making a million homes warmer. They would also introduce an energy efficiency voucher available to every household in England for use in introducing changes such as solar panels. 

In a similar vein to Labour’s “British Jobs Bonus”, the Conservatives would provide bonuses to energy firms that invest in manufacturing in “the most disadvantaged places in the UK” or “invest in more sustainable supply chains”. To reduce competition risk for such industries they also intend to introduce a carbon pricing mechanism by 2027 such that imported iron, steel, aluminium, ceramics and cement from countries with a lower or no carbon price will have a comparable carbon price to goods produced domestically. Their Advanced Manufacturing Plan is also intended to invest in clean energy (alongside other manufacturing sectors).

The Conservatives also intend to reform the planning system to speed up infrastructure delivery, including for energy projects. However, they have also noted that “democratic consent” from local areas will be needed for onshore wind, and the new restrictions on building solar on agricultural land and in clusters will be retained. The Conservative manifesto also promises that there will be no frequent flyer levy, road pricing schemes, or new “green levies”. 

Finally, their manifesto pledges to cut waiting times for grid connection by implementing the recommendations of the Winser Review, which was published in August 2023 and outlined plans to take advantage of renewable energy and transform Britain’s electricity transmission system.

Liberal Democrats

1. Restoring the requirement that every new car and small van sold after 2030 will be zero emission.
2. Increasing public transport offerings, electrifying Britain’s railways, and investing in R&D to “make the UK the world leader in zero carbon flight”.
3. Introducing taxation for certain international flights to target frequent flyers, with a super tax on private jet flights and no VAT exemptions for private, first class and business class flights.
4. Banning short domestic flights where a direct rail option taking less than 2.5 hours is available for the same journey (unless planes are alternative-fuelled).
5. Opposing the expansion of existing airports, or any new airports being built in the Thames Estuary.

The Liberal Democrats have pledged to introduce an emergency 10 year Home Energy Upgrade programme, which will provide free insulation and heat pumps to low income households and will make all new build homes zero-carbon. They would also expand incentives for installation of household solar panels. The party has also pledged to decouple electricity prices from the wholesale gas price and eliminate “unfair regional differences” in domestic energy bills.

The manifesto also pledges to remove “the Conservatives’ unnecessary restrictions on new solar and wind power” (likely referring to planning restrictions, although this is not specified in the manifesto), and to invest in tidal and wave power, green hydrogen, pumped storage, and battery capability. The Liberal Democrats would maintain the ban on fracking and introduce a ban on new coal mines.  

The Liberal Democrats would introduce a duty of care for the environment for all companies, alongside further regulation for financial services to encourage Paris Agreement compliance. They have also pledged to introduce a “proper, one-off windfall tax on the super-profits of oil and gas producers and traders”. It is not specified whether this would be a reform of the existing Energy Profits Levy.

Green Party

In accordance with their central tenets, the Green Party has pledged to invest “lots more money… into making the economy greener”, funded by increased taxes on oil companies. They would also make train, water and energy companies publicly owned and allow locals to have shares in their local energy such as wind farms. 

The Green Party pledges to have “most” of the country’s energy from wind by 2030, with more offshore and onshore farms along with more solar power, battery storage, and community owned local energy. No new drilling for oil or new fossil fuel projects would be permitted, with taxes on such fuel increased. The party does not support nuclear power and would shut sites down. 

Reform UK

In contrast, the Reform UK manifesto opposes net zero, calling it “the wrong bit, at the wrong price, in the wrong timeframe” and promising to “ditch” the goal. The manifesto suggests that climate change and global warming cannot be helped by reducing CO2 emissions, and therefore emission reduction should not be targeted. 

They have instead pledged to (i) scrap renewable energy subsidies, (ii) fast track North Sea oil and gas licenses including granting shale gas licenses on test sites for two years, and (iii) expedite/increase investment in nuclear energy, lithium mining, combined cycle gas turbine, clean synthetic fuel, and clean coal mining. They have also pledged to remove VAT on energy bills and lower fuel duty by 20p per litre. 

Quick-fire Policy Table