Labour Party leadership candidate Owen Smith would keep the UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) in government hands and inject £15bn into its coffers, if he became prime minister.
Smith (pictured), who is challenging the UK’s opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, said today in Newcastle the current Conservative government’s plans to privatise the GIB is “wrong for Britain”.
He said the bank has, so far, committed £2.7bn to the UK’s green economy generating £11bn in deals, which is a “good start but nowhere near enough” to achieve the country’s environmental goals.
Investment of £330bn will be needed to meet such goals, he said, but investment to date is less than half that.
Therefore, “under my investment, I would turbo charge that capitalizing the bank with a massive injection of £15bn over the next five years”.
Smith said he would commit to a ‘British New Deal’ that would invest £200bn to rebuild Britain over the next five years.
The money would help support UK industry, including renewable energy.
Image: Owen Smith
Smith would keep GIB public
Labour leadership challenger plans £15bn cash injection for green bank
By EBS