Labour lawmakers want Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s 10-year plan to offer faster help with industrial electricity bills, The Guardian reported Wednesday, ahead of government support expected to begin in 2027.
Members of the Reindustrialisation Research Group (ReRG) were due to raise their concerns with Cabinet Office minister Sally Jameson on Nov. 11, according to The Guardian. The MPs fear the plan may lack measures detailed enough to revive British production.
The government says its British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme could reduce eligible manufacturers’ electricity costs by up to £40 per megawatt-hour. Support is expected to start in April 2027. The Guardian reported that ReRG members want assistance sooner.
The group has proposed a measure of the plan’s ambition. Its July working paper calls for one million additional jobs in production industries by 2036, raising employment in those sectors from the paper’s baseline of 3.56 million to 4.56 million. ReRG estimated that sustaining the extra jobs would require at least £645 billion in additional capital stock over the decade.
The group’s definition of production industries includes agriculture, mining and quarrying, manufacturing, energy and water supply. It argues that a jobs target would require policies and investment on a scale sufficient to meet it. The target and capital estimate are ReRG proposals, not government commitments.
ReRG convenor Andy MacNae told The Guardian that ministerial briefings had left gaps in the government’s approach. “The risk is we don’t see reindustrialisation at all,” he said.
The Guardian also reported that the MPs want a stronger role for No. 10 North in the plan. Burnham has said the office would oversee regional reindustrialisation. The government established it to coordinate local economic growth and devolution.
The Guardian previously reported that more than 90 Labour backbenchers had pressed Burnham to set industrial job targets and overhaul the National Wealth Fund.
In his July 20 inaugural speech, Burnham pledged to publish the 10-year plan later this year and use public procurement to support British industry. A Nov. 5 government release still put publication in 2026. Applications for the existing electricity scheme close Nov. 30.
