Rachel Cox, Southern and South East Socialist Party
With the memory of 2022’s energy price shock still close to hand, the rise in oil prices triggered by Trump’s war on Iran is not only hitting workers at the pump, it is also an ominous omen for what happens to our energy bills when the price cap is revised in July.
In response Labour, which promised to cut £300 from energy bills by 2030, unveiled their latest stingy tinkering. This time, energy secretary Ed Miliband announced his plans to move solar and wind farms onto fixed-cost contracts in an attempt to cut the link between electricity, and gas and oil prices. At the moment, the price paid to electricity generators is determined by the cost paid by the most expensive energy supplier at use at that moment. At times when renewables and others don’t produce enough, it’s natural gas that sets the price. Miliband aims to put pressure on firms to switch to new contracts by putting extra taxes on the ones that don’t.
These attempts to coerce firms to move to different contracts leave their profits intact. Unite the Union found that energy bosses took home £30 billion pre-tax in 2024, or £500 of every household’s bills on average. It is clear that far more needs to be done than tinkering, and clear that this is all Labour is currently willing to do.
What is really needed is the full renationalisation of the energy system under democratic control and oversight, beginning with the national grid (both transmission and distribution networks). Compensation should be paid only on the basis of proven need – no more money to the fat cats! We could then invest in research and funding into renewables, including investment in energy storage. Alongside this, a publicly funded insulation and energy transition plan for existing housing stock would be vital. This would lower working-class households’ energy costs, but how do we win them?
Oil and gas lobbyists do all they can to have their influence on the political system – MPs are more than happy to take their money, such as the £45,000 given to new Labour MPs in 2024. To fight back, workers need a party of our own based on the organisations of the working class, including the six million-strong trade unions.
But while the bosses’ system is left intact even any victories can be lost, as our privatised energy system testifies. For this reason, we can’t leave it there, we must fight to put the working class in power internationally and build a system of our own, democratically run and owned by workers: a socialist society. Only then will the gains we’ve made be safe. If you want to fight for such a future, join the Socialist Party today!
