State foreign owned assets show why we need Great British Energy - Yorkshire Post Letters

Whereas 80 per cent of UK offshore wind is foreign-owned, a striking 44 per cent is state foreign-owned. The largest on-shore wind farm in Wales is owned by Vattenfall, itself owned by the Swedish government.

The two largest North Sea/UK wind farms in the latest auction are owned by Orsted, which is majority owned by the Danish government. Five million people in the UK pay electricity bills to EDF, which is 100 per cent owned by the French government.

In effect, this means UK electricity consumers are subsidising hospitals and schools in Denmark, Sweden and France. Even the city of Munich owns more offshore wind generation in UK waters than the British government.

Labour has put forward a bill for our own UK state owned energy company, Great British Energy, investing in clean energy. Wind and solar generated electricity are now far cheaper than gas so investing in renewables will cut bills for us all.

It will create thousands of jobs, give us energy security against dictators like Putin, and help reduce the effects of climate change. A YouGov survey showed that only 17 per cent of UK residents oppose the creation of Great British Energy.

Despite being obviously to the benefit of the UK, Conservative Members of Parliament shamefully voted against setting up Great British Energy, in an act of political petulance. So, the downward spiral of a dysfunctional and disunited Tory Party continues.