Sunday, 17 Nov 2024

Andrew Neil puts John McDonnell on spot over Labour’s housing plans – ‘What’s the point?’

Labour has planned to create a £75billion social housing plan to help tackle the current crisis crippling the country. But BBC host Andrew Neil questioned whether the homes will have gas-fired central heating and cooking, and if the plan will conflict with putting a windfall tax on gas companies. Speaking on BBC’s Politics Live, Mr Neil said: “It seems to me you’re not ruling out the central heating and cooking systems of a lot of these new homes, will still be fitted with gas.

“You’re going to need gas and yet you’re going to put a windfall tax on gas companies. I mean what’s the point? You need the gas.”

John McDonnell replied: “What we’re trying to do is make sure there’s a fair balance between those companies that have made quite significant profits out of fossil fuels, and have had tax subsidies largely to do that in over £1billion.

“Their contribution is actually now to ensure they help us steer towards a just transition, and that’s exactly what we’ll do. We’ll work with them, we’ll go with the grain of the discussions now.

“Because I’ve been touring around this city as you know and I’ve been meeting various asset managers and investors and a number of companies as well.

“What they’re worried about now is their investments in what they describe as ‘stranded assets’. So fossil fuel in particular. How do we transition investments and others from fossil fuels into alternative energy sources?

“And we can build consensus on this because you know investors I’ve been meeting have been saying ‘look we can contribute too to tackling climate change.’ They live on the same planet as us, they want to work with us.”

The BBC presenter remarked: “Right, okay. I’m not quite sure the oil and gas companies are queuing up to pay a windfall tax but we’ll see if your cups of tea with them produce that.”

Proposed as a plan for “building for the many”, Labour will set out to build 100,000 council homes and 50,000 social homes through housing associations.

As stated in the manifesto: “Labour will stop runaway rents by capping them with inflation and give cities powers to cap rents further.”

In a speech on Thursday, Mr Corbyn said his party would introduce “rent controls” to protect private renters and introduce open-ended tenancies.

Mr Corbyn also stated his party would scrap universal credit while also insisting to help potential tenants.

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He said: “We will put forward the biggest social housing plan since the 1960s and we will cap rent.”

Controversially, however, the party has begun to scale back on plans to make the UK carbon zero by 2030.

Despite previously stating that the party would set out a goal to be carbon neutral by 2030, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade, Barry Gardiner, appeared to scale back the goal by stating that their goal is to make the UK carbon neutral “well before” 2050.

The party has also promised to create one million green jobs in the energy sector. Environment protection is expected to be a central theme of Mr Corbyn’s election manifesto today.

Under the plan, the party estimates creating 98,000 jobs by building an additional 9,000 wind turbines.

In a previously confirmed plan by the party, they would also create a further 320,000 climate apprenticeships. Under a National Investment Back, there would be £250billion available to fund for enterprise, infrastructure and innovation over 10 years.

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