Putin now bullies Britain because this Government failed to plan

Answer blowing in the wind? Net zero is Britain’s future says Angeka Rayner (Image: Getty)Britain should never be a country that shirks our global leadership role, particularly not when it comes to this climate challenge. Once his bitter rival, and king-over-the-water, Boris Johnson announced he would be crashing the party, the newly crowned Prime Minister had second thoughts. But the fact Sunak planned to shun the world stage before his Tory rival threatened to upstage him shows he just doesn’t get it. He’s been dragged kicking and screaming, it seems, into doing the right thing.When we need British leadership on the world stage we have a weak Prime Minister who dithers and delays before acting in a panic purely to avoid personal embarrassment.His initial instincts say it all: he just doesn’t get it when it comes to energy bills or the crisis in our climate.Rishi Sunak’s massive tax breaks for oil and gas giants, while blocking new solutions – have left energy bills higher and our country less secure.You don’t have to be an eco-crusader to know that tackling the climate crisis is about more than our standing abroad and our global reputation. It’s about the opportunities for lower energy bills, jobs, and energy security here at home.From wind engineers and hydrogen technicians in Yorkshire, to plumbers and electricians insulating homes in Manchester, to the pioneers of the electric vehicle revolution in the north-east, communities across the country are rolling up their sleeves and forging Britain’s industrial future.They need a Government that will back British businesses and British jobs.But we must ask ourselves why we are so exposed to changes in the international price of oil and gas? Why are we so at the mercy of dictators able to pull the plug on wells and shut down pipelines? Why is there such a fundamental flaw in our national security?It’s about a failure to prepare, a failure to increase energy independence, and a failure to rapidly decrease our reliance on fossil fuels.A decade of failed energy policy has left energy bills too high and the UK overly exposed to the manipulations of fossil fuel dictators. It’s high time the UK broke free from the mercy of the global gas market, which has been too easily manipulated by Vladimir Putin after his illegal invasion of Ukraine.That’s why Labour would establish GB Energy, a home-grown company in public hands that will harness the power of Britain’s sun, wind, and waves to deliver good, secure, high-paid British jobs, cut energy bills and deliver energy independence for our country.Britain can lead at home and abroad once again. A real plan for UK energy security will make us an energy export superpower, create thousands of jobs, and with renewables now nine times cheaper than gas, it would cut energy bills for good.From a world-leading offshore wind industry in Scotland and the East Coast, hydrogen in the North-West and Teesside, nuclear power in the South-East, and solar power in the South and Midlands, a truly national enterprise would unleash Britain’s potential with thousands of good, well-paid jobs across our country.There is a global race on for the jobs of the future – and Britain under the Tories is not only losing it – but failing to show up.It’s time to tackle the cost of living, and protect our home for future generations by tackling the climate crisis in the national interest by giving Britain the boost it needs.