Jeremy Corbyn will unveil plans to create another 70,000 jobs in offshore windfarms part-owned by the public as his party gears up for an election manifesto focusing on a green industrial revolution.
The Labour leader will visit a windfarm on Wednesday as he launches his commitment to a further 37 offshore windfarms.
They would be built with a mixture of public and private finance as Labour members voted for stringent targets of net-zero emissions by 2030 at their autumn conference.
Under the party’s 10-year plan, the UK’s capacity for wind energy would increase by fivefold and benefit from an £83bn investment.
Corbyn will also promise to give the public a controlling 51% stake in all new windfarms, with 20% of the profits for the taxpayer being invested back into coastal communities and 80% of public profits to be reinvested into decarbonising the economy and tackling climate change.
Before the visit, Corbyn said: “The full scale of the environment and climate emergency cannot be ignored. As scientists and activists have made clear, we need immediate and radical action to have any hope of keeping temperature rises to a manageable level.
“We know the big polluters and banks won’t take the necessary action. So the next Labour government will kick-start a green industrial revolution, protecting our planet and creating hundreds of thousands of high-wage, high-skill unionised jobs across the country and delivering investment for communities that have been held back for decades.
“Labour’s 10-year plan will provide the massive public investment needed to radically reduce our emissions and secure a future for our planet.”
Labour said the finance model would be joint-venture partnerships between publicly owned Regional Energy Agencies (REAs) and existing offshore wind developers.
The Conservatives questioned why private investors would want to put money into windfarms part-owned by the government.
Kwasi Kwarteng, a business minister, said: “Why would any investor put money into a nationalised windfarm? While Labour joins disruptive protests, it’s Boris Johnson and the Conservatives who have outlined practical steps to achieve our world-leading net-zero target, including delivering a major increase in offshore wind at record low prices, expanding electric vehicle use and making all new homes energy efficient.”
