What does the pledge mean? 

In its manifesto, Labour promised to support its new state-owned company Great British Energy (GBE) with £8.3 billion in capital funding over the course of this parliament.

This pledge forms part of what the Labour government has described as its “second mission”: to make Britain “a clean energy superpower”.

Labour pitched GBE as a “publicly-owned company” that will deliver clean power by co-investing in “leading technologies” and supporting capital-intensive projects, and also said it would “deploy local energy production”. It has also stated the company will create jobs and support growth across the UK.

Details published since the manifesto launch in June suggest GBE will participate in producing, distributing, storing and supplying clean energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving energy efficiency and securing the UK’s energy supply.

It will do so by partnering with the private sector in wind, solar and nuclear energy—all of which are mature low-carbon technologies—and by investing in “less mature technologies” such as floating offshore wind and carbon capture.

The Great British Energy Bill is currently progressing through the House of Lords.

What progress has been made?

We’ve rated this pledge as “In progress”. In its Autumn Budget, the government provided £100 million capital funding to GBE for 2025-26 for clean energy project development, and a further £25 million to establish itself as a company headquartered in Aberdeen.

Among other things, GBE will use this first £100 million to fit rooftop solar panels on schools and hospitals, which the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero told Full Fact will reduce their energy bills.