22 January 2023 , 22:30
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Small businesses will be given vouchers to help them go green so they can save on their energy bills, under a Labour plan.
The £700million scheme would see firms get help to switch to heat pumps or electric vehicles.
It would be funded by imposing a windfall tax on energy giants.
Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “It is clear only Labour has a plan to keep Britain ‘open for business’.
“While the Conservatives lurch from crisis to crisis, Labour will lower business costs for good, helping small firms go green to save on energy bills.”
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He added: “Firms are battling with rising energy prices, that’s why Labour will cut business costs now and help small businesses invest to ensure bills stay low for good.
Labour's Jonathan Reynolds says the party has a plan to keep Britain 'open for business' (PA)“British business needs security and certainty and that is what they will get under Labour.”
The proposed help for businesses comes after Labour last week called on the government to stop April’s energy price cap rise, which will cost typical households around £500.
In a speech at the weekend, Rachel Reeves accused Rishi Sunak of "burying his head in the sand" as the cost-of-living crisis bites.
Speaking at the Fabian's annual conference, the Shadow Chancellor said: "Millions of families are still looking to a 40% increase in their energy bills, in April.
"On a week when temperatures fall below zero, I know many families and pensioners will be feeling the pressure particularly acutely.
"At the same time, energy companies continue to enjoy record profits. This cannot be right."
Ms Reeves added: “That those who have profited from the windfalls of war should shoulder their share of the cost, so ordinary people do not have to bear the brunt of a crisis that they did not cause.
“By backdating this from the start of 2022 - when oil and gas giants were already making historically large profits - we can raise more than £13bn."
Under plans to save households hundreds of pounds off energy bills, Ms Reeves committed to reaching "100% clean power by 2030 and retofit millions of homes" by 2030.
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“Sticking plaster politics is not enough," Ms Reeves she said.
“We cannot persist with walking into a crisis unprepared, and at the last minute producing hugely expensive fixes to get us through, while the underlying problems – those weakened foundations – remain untouched."
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