Labour will keep £3 billion steel plan for Sheffield despite green energy U-turn, says Sir Keir Starmer

However, Sir Keir suggested that Labour’s plan, which he has previously claimed will create a million new jobs, starting in its first 100 days, will require changes to immigration levels to fill the roles, but will “predominantly” be for people living in the UK.

“The transition to green steel is vitally important,” Sir Keir said.

“If we are able to move at pace to green steel, then we don't just preserve the steel jobs we got, we will create the steel jobs of the future.”

The Labour leader said that it will keep its pledge to match 3 billion pounds of private investment with taxpayers money, with the figure spread over a decade in order to safeguard jobs in places such as Sheffield.

At last year’s Labour conference the Labour leader committed to 1 million new jobs, with the party later announcing that it will devolve powers over skills to regions such as Yorkshire in order to train the next generation of workers with the skills they will need locally in order to get employed.

When asked if this would also require changes to migration, amid a backdrop of low unemployment and high vacancies, Sir Keir said: “Predominantly, I want these to be UK-based jobs for people living here, particularly those who are at risk if we don't transition, sectors that have got a limited shelf life now.

“One of the things that I'm determined to do is to make sure that we've got the right skills here in the UK.

“Many businesses, including businesses in Yorkshire say to me: “Look Keir, I'm only bringing people in from abroad because I can't get the skills I need here in the UK, here in Yorkshire”.

“We've got to change that.”

It comes after the shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, U-turned on Labour’s Green Prosperity Plan, which promised investment of £28 billion a year, every year of this decade.

The policy will now “ramp up” to that figure by halfway through the first term of a Labour government, just over 2 years, but was criticised by Jeremy Hunt, who argued the plan would still add £100bn to the national debt.

“The 28 billion and getting there is an absolute priority for me,” said Sir Keir.

“Obviously the economic situation means that the situation now is different to two years ago. But also, we need to just make sure we can just get the 28 billion out the door in the right way.”

Labour’s spending commitments, a mix of investment and tax-incentives for businesses, was labelled as a direct competition to both the US and the EU incentives on green energy announced in recent months.

“The race for the next generation of jobs in renewables is already on,” said Sir Keir.

“Obviously, Biden is moving forward fast, the EU is responding, and the Green Prosperity Plan is Labour's response to that. It's to put the UK in the race and in a race that we can win.

“What I want for the £28 billion is for it to be used to trigger the private sector as well, so that there's joint funding coming in,” he added.

A Labour source said: “We need a competitive tax system that encourages investment”.

The spread of investment will be focused away from London and the South East.

“I'm not interested in a model of growth that says London and the South East grows and the rest of the country gets redistribution, " said the Labour leader, adding: “I'm not prepared to have that model.”

“There will be a big commitment to Yorkshire in this, Yorkshire is a powerhouse, if it's got a government that comes up alongside it.”