New Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer has named MP for Doncaster North Ed Miliband as shadow secretary for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Miliband, who led the Labour Party between 2010 and 2016, is chair of the Institute for Public Policy Research’s Environmental Climate Justice Commission and served as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change between 2008 and 2010.
In a statement Miliband said Green New Deal policies could help the UK overcome the economic damage wrought by the ongoing conoravirus pandemic.
“We will need to reshape our economy, addressing the insecurity millions of workers face. We must also return to climate change as the unavoidable long-term issue of our time including with a recovery based on providing economic justice through a Green New Deal,” he said.
Renewable UK Deputy Chief Executive Melanie Onn, who was Labour MP for Great Grimsby until last year, welcomed Miliband’s appointment.
“Ed Miliband is a strong champion of renewables with a great track record of supporting the innovative technologies we need to get the UK to net zero as fast and as cheaply as possible,” she said.
“He’s a fluent and passionate advocate for the need to act more swiftly on climate change, and a longstanding supporter of onshore wind as a crucial technology which generates clean electricity at the lowest cost for consumers.”
A spokesperson for grassroots political group Labour for a Green New Deal called on the shadow minister not to abandon controversial plans to nationalise the UK grid network that the party outlined during last year’s general election.
“There is no mandate to weaken Labour’s transformative policies. Labour members overwhelmingly support the policies of the 2019 manifesto, from nationalising the energy grid to providing free broadband as a human right.
“With escalating public health and climate crises, these commitments to public ownership and universal services are more vital, popular and timely than ever.”