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This evening, the Labour Party finally confirmed that it will ditch its pledge to put £28 billion towards green investment.
The plan has been slashed from £28 billion towards green investment in one year, to a total of £23.7billion over five years.
Amid months of speculation and leaks, Ed Miliband had vocal in pushing for the party to stick by its pledge.
Last year, the Shadow Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary wrote on social media: “Some people don’t want Britain to borrow to invest in the green economy. They want us to back down. But Keir, Rachel and I will never let that happen. Britain needs this £28 billion a year plan and that is what we are committed to.”
This evening, the Labour Party finally confirmed that it will ditch its pledge to put £28 billion towards green investment
PA
But just six months later, hevtook a different tune, rowing in behind the Labour leader. In a statement this evening, he descrbed the watered down plan as a “world-leading agenda on climate and energy”.
The Labour Party is arguing that the changes are necessary as a result of the Conservative Party “crashing the economy and Jeremy Hunt’s plans to ‘max out’ the country’s credit card”.
But for the Tories, today’s announcement – and the months of speculation that came before it – is the perfect opportunity to draw attention to what they have dubbed “complete chaos” under Labour.
Given the Conservative Party’s grip on its identity as a “safe pair of hands” has been slipping for years, Labour’s latest U-turn has unsurprisingly come as a source of glee.
Unfortuantely for Miliband, his role in the so-called “chaos” has not gone unnoticed either.
Hours before Labour issued an official statement, the Tories had already set up a website tracking the last time the ex-Labour leader was seen in public.
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At the time of writing, the running timer – stationed above an image of a sheepish looking Ed Miliband – was at 140 days, seven hours and and 10 minutes.
And this afternoon, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Laura Trott MP said Labour are in “complete chaos” – a rhetoric that will no doubt bring back unwelcome memories for Labour of the 2015 Tory election campaign slogan – “Chaos under Ed Miliband”.
In a scathing attack on the party, Trott said: “Labour are in complete chaos. Hours after they said they do not have a plan to pay for their £28 billion spending promises, a senior Labour Shadow Cabinet member is saying Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves aren’t changing anything.
“Without a plan to pay for their £28 billion promises, Labour will inevitably impose thousands of pounds in higher taxes on working people. That is why Labour will take Britain back to square one.”
It is already proving unlikely that the Tory party will let any humiliation on this climbdown go to waste this week.
When it comes to Miliband’s future on the front bench, he is still supporting the party line for now. But the latest U-turn is a huge back step on a pledge that the environment secretary previously defended so fiercely.
He may have buckled to fall in line with the Labour leader this time, but opposition watchers will be looking closely for signs of dissent if Labour is forced to compromise any further.
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