Yahoo News Keir Starmer says Labour will help ceramics with 'massive' energy problem
Keir Starmer says a Labour government will 'from day one' work to bring down ceramic firms' energy costs - and look for longer term solutions for the sector. The Labour leader paid a campaign visit to Duchess China in Longton on Thursday, with just a week to go until the general election.
At the factory he met master potter Keith Brymer Jones and discussed Labour's plans to improve access to apprenticeships, with the Great Pottery Throw Down star explaining how an apprenticeship had given him the platform to start his own career.
The British Ceramics Confederation has long been calling on the government for more support as it works to decarbonise - a major challenge facing the energy-intensive industry, which has also been hit with rocketing energy costs in recent years.
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Manufacturers are looking to work together to meet net zero targets, and have a decarbonisation 'roadmap', involving increased use of technologies such as hydrogen and carbon capture. But the BCC says government support is vital.
Sir Keir, who is widely expected to be the UK's next Prime Minister, said that a Labour government would look to help industries such as ceramics with their energy costs, suggesting his party's plans for GB Energy, a publicly-owned energy company, would help. But did not mention any specific support around decarbonisation.
He said: "We have to work with businesses here to ensure they can thrive, not just today but tomorrow and into the future. To do that we need to take difficult decisions but quick decisions on things like energy costs.
"One of the biggest inhibitors in Stoke for businesses is the massive spiralling cost of energy under this government, because they've lost control and they haven't got a plan for energy. We can't fix everything overnight, but we will certainly start straight away to fix those fundamentals.
"Energy is massive problem when it comes to pottery and the businesses which this area is so famous for, reliant on and proud of. So yes, we need to work with them from day one to bring their cost down, and give them the support they need.
"We have to go for a longer term solution, because there's been too much sticking plaster politics in my view, where real problems are not fixed.
"The answer here is GB Energy - a publicly-owned company, generating renewable energy. This is home-grown energy, it's much cheaper, and it carries with it security so if Putin invades or if other dictators take action, out energy costs don't go up.
"If we come in to serve, we will start on day one working to ensure businesses and communities get the support they need."
Allison Gardner, Labour's candidate for Stoke-on-Trent South, who accompanied Sir Keir on his visit, added: "Great British Energy is going to really help with costs. In North Staffordshire we're lucky to have two university's, and Keele University is doing a lot of work around hydrogen, so we have a lot of potential here to be able to help that transition to a greener and cleaner, net zero world."
During the visit, Keith Brymer Jones gave Sir Keith a demonstration of his skills on the potter's wheel, with the Labour leader then having a go at stamping his party's 'Change' slogan onto a clay mug.
