MP Jamie Stone invites energy secretary Ed Miliband invited to consider the Highlands as HQ for Great British Energy
Jamie Stone has invited Labour’s energy secretary Ed Miliband to visit the Highland Green Freeport as today’s King’s Speech confirmed that the HQ for Great British Energy would be in Scotland.
GB Energy will be a new publicly-owned company aimed at “delivering power back to the British people” by funding it by £8.3 billion to “be the powerhouse of our clean energy mission”.
There has since been a clamour across Scotland to highlight the benefits of each area with both Inverness and Aberdeen calling for it, as have local business leaders and also Inverness and Nairn MSP Fergus Ewing.
Speaking after the King’s Speech – the address to both houses of parliament setting out the government programme – Mr Stone welcomed the policy programme, saying: "Much of what I have heard today is a welcome change” and are” headed in the right direction”.
But he went on: "One thing that stands out to me is Great British Energy. Headquartered in Scotland, Labour intends to invest in energy production and storage, making use of existing offshore infrastructure and the skills in our workforce.
“With this in mind, I would strongly encourage the Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, to look at projects like the Cromarty Firth Green Freeport and I would invite him to come north as soon as possible to see for himself what is being done there.
"To be successful in the bid to build the freeport was one thing, but to ensure that it thrives and that the hundreds of jobs promised come to fruition will require much support from Governments in both Edinburgh and London.
"The Highlands is the biggest generator of clean, green energy in Scotland, and yet we suffer from a lack of job opportunities and extortionate energy bills. A sensible Government would know that to address these problems can only be a good thing for the country's economy and energy security as a whole."
