MPs call on government to invest in infrastructure and local Green New Deals
13th November 2023
The co-chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Green New Deal have written to the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, urging him to invest in a Green New Deal and reverse years of underinvestment in the UK’s infrastructure and services.
The letter, from Caroline Lucas MP and Clive Lewis MP, highlights the financial and social cost of underinvestment – including in energy efficiency measures, where lack of government action has added hundreds of pounds a year to bills and left people in cold, damp homes. It also notes that local government is well placed to lead on green home upgrades, improving public transport networks and other measures that can improve people’s lives while cutting emissions – but central government needs to devolve powers and funding to make this possible.
The letter asks the Chancellor to use the forthcoming Autumn Statement to:
- Announce a multiyear devolved funding settlement for local authorities to decarbonise homes in their area, based on need and commensurate with the task of decarbonising all the 26.4 million homes in England and Wales.
- Devolve funding and powers to local authorities to enable them to develop their own Green New Deal strategies for using decarbonisation to boost quality of life and support the local economy.
- Initiate the process of bringing the electricity grid and water companies in England back into public ownership.
The MPs point out that the additional investment required can be funded from a variety of sources, including by increasing taxes on capital gains and changing the rules on ISAs so that they have to be invested in green projects.
The Autumn Statement will be delivered on Wednesday 22nd November.