Sir Keir Starmer has said that putting up more electricity pylons in the countryside is one of the “unpopular” decisions he is not afraid to make. Addressing Labour delegates for the first time as Prime Minister, Sir Keir said it was time to be honest with the public about the “trade-offs” needed to deliver real change.
Several Labour MPs have expressed opposition to pylons – particularly projects proposed in their local area, which prove unpopular with constituents. Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, the new MP for Suffolk Coastal, has attended anti-pylon protests in her constituency and Ben Godborough, for South Norfolk, has also expressed opposition to local projects.
Meanwhile, Dame Nia Griffith, a minister in the Wales Office, said in Parliament weeks before the election that there was “huge concern that enormous pylon projects will spoil areas of considerable natural beauty”. She also warned that pylons “take up space on agricultural land” and that she wanted “to take our communities with us” in the transition to renewable energy.
Sir Keir also rejected the notion that there was a “magic” solution to the small boats problem – a swipe at the Tories’ Rwanda plan – and addressed the need for laws to stop benefit fraud.
It fitted into a wider attempt by the Prime Minister to frame his premiership as willing to take tough decisions to bring back growth and deliver reforms, in contrast to his Tory predecessor.
The hour-long speech in Liverpool came against a backdrop of Sir Keir’s plummeting personal approval ratings and a trade union revolt over winter fuel payment cuts. He said: “I understand many of the decisions we must take will be unpopular. If they were popular, they’d be easy.”
The Prime Minister said “the time is long overdue for politicians to level with you about the trade-offs this country faces”, listing some of those. “If we want justice to be served some communities must live close to new prisons,” he said. “If we want to maintain support for the welfare state, then we will legislate to stop benefit fraud. Do everything we can to tackle worklessness.”
“If we want cheaper electricity, we need new pylons overground, otherwise the burden on taxpayers is too much.”
The Labour leader tried to make a merit of his honesty, saying: “Whether we agree or not, I will always treat you with the respect of candour, not the distraction of bluster.”