Ed Miliband was accused of spouting “total nonsense” this morning after a tough grilling on the Government’s energy policy by GMB’s Susanna Reid.
Mr Miliband was pressed on Labour’s election promise that Mr Milliband’s grandiose GB Energy project will save voters £300 pounds off their energy bills.
However Ms Reid demanded to know: “How much are they going to have gone up by that point?”
Mr Milliband insisted “It’s not about bills going up as a result of our plan”.
“The truth is, Susanna, because we don’t control fossil fuel markets, when geopolitical events happen what happens is – for example Russia invading Ukraine – prices go up not just for imported gas but for north sea gas as well.
“What we’re doing is transitioning to cheap green power that we control”.
However the former Labour leader was accused of speaking “total nonsense” by his Tory opposite Claire Coutinho, who described his claims as “extraordinary”.
She argued that the National Energy Systems Operator (NESO) analysis, which Mr Miliband lauded as proving that clean power by 2030 is both achievable and cheaper, in fact shows his plans will increase the cots of electricity.
She warned: “The NESO report shows Ed’s plans will lead to much higher costs of electricity.
“It also says gas will price the system 50% of the time OR we have to move demand to when the wind blows.
“This is total nonsense from Ed Miliband.”
The NESO report said that delivering Mr Miliband’s target will require a complete overhaul of planning and pricing, which could lead to Brits being told when they can boil their kettles to make cups of tea.
Viewers of Mr Miliband’s interview largely responded negatively to his arguments, with X user Luke Jones saying: “This idiotic makes me so angry. He’s dangerous and hasn’t got a clue.”
Jules said: “This man is absolutely nuts”.
While Winston Smith blasted: “Hope everyone can see where this Marxist Labour Party are taking us.”
“Fraud Starmer told the country in May this year if people voted Labour their energy bills would go down by £400
“Our energy bills will not be going down…”
In July, the Full Fact website analysed Mr Miliband’s claim that his plans will save consumers £300 a year on their energy bills.
It reported that even during the general election, this claim was already “out of date”.
