On a visit to Harlow today [25 April], Shadow Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said that a Labour government would create thousands of opportunities for young people in the region after ‘fourteen years of failure’ by the government.

Visiting Harlow College alongside Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Harlow Chris Vince, Miliband said that Labour’s Green Prosperity Plan will create thousands of skilled jobs in the net zero economy in the South East. The average annual wage for jobs in net zero industries are £8,200 per year higher than the regional average, boosting incomes for working people.

Labour’s Warm Homes Plan will help families who want the chance to upgrade their homes with energy efficiency measures and low carbon heating, and will help to create long-term, skilled, highly paid work for construction workers, electricians and plumbers, as well as reduce household energy bills by hundreds of pounds per year.

Analysis by Labour has today revealed that fewer than 5 homes in Harlow have been upgraded under the government’s latest insulation scheme, despite over 4,500 homes in the town being in fuel poverty.

Speaking ahead of the visit, Miliband said:

“It’s shocking that whilst thousands of families across Harlow are in fuel poverty, the government’s flagship insulation scheme has upgraded fewer than 5 households. Home upgrades are the single biggest no-brainer if we want to cut energy bills and create jobs, but the government’s record is woeful.

“Labour’s Warm Homes Plan, alongside our overhaul of the skills system, will bring investment, good jobs and lower bills to towns across the South East. After fourteen years of failure from this government, only Labour can deliver the change and investment people deserve here in Harlow”

Chris Vince, Labour PPC for Harlow, said:

“From setting up Great British Energy, a publicly owned energy company, to a National  Wealth Fund to rebuild our industrial strength, to our Warm Homes Plan to cut bills for families, a Labour government will work tirelessly to create the good jobs that people have a right to expect.”

Labour’s skills policies will support delivery of the skills necessary for our Clean Power Mission, and will include:

• changes to Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) to allow local authorities to better plan the skills pipeline needed in their communities, helping the delivery of Labour’s Clean Power Mission
• creating new Technical Excellence Colleges (TECs), to work with existing colleges and local employers to provide specialist skills training in line with national strategic priorities
• reforming the Apprenticeship Levy into a new Growth and Skills Levy, to give businesses more flexibility to spend apprenticeship levy funds on other training opportunities.
• creating Skills England, to streamline the time lag between skills needs being identified and becoming available to learners