Ed Miliband's GB Energy slammed as 'needless new quango' costing taxpayers £8.3bn

Sam Payne, senior climate programme manager at the Conservative Environment Network, warned taxpayer spending on GB Energy cannot match what the private sector will provide.

He added: “Whilst the Government has committed £8.3billion over the course of this Parliament, the private sector is expected to invest over 12 times as much in the clean energy transition - the government shouldn’t risk crowding this investment out.

“By investing in a sector that already has significant private capital, the government risks wasting taxpayer money, at a time when households and government expenditure is already under pressure.

"Instead, the Government should be investing taxpayers’ money into environmental schemes that require public finance, such as uplifting the nature-friendly farming budget, supporting nuclear energy and electrifying railways.”

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