Jeremy Corbyn visits Fawley power station to promise 'green industrial revolution'

LABOUR leader Jeremy Corbyn paid a visit to wind turbine company MHI Vestas based at the Fawley power station site today (Wednesday) to unveil a “green industrial revolution” investment pledge worth £83bn.

Mr Corbyn dropped in to the painting and logistics facility on Wednesday where, if elected, he promised nearly 70,000 new jobs would be created nationally with a 10-year plan using a mix of private and public money.

As reported in the A&T, part of the power station was recently demolished with explosives to pave the way for a proposed 1,500 new homes. It has been the base for MHI Vestas where about 50 employees treat turbine blades 80 metres long.

Mr Corbyn said: “The full scale of the environment and climate emergency cannot be ignored.

“As scientists and activists have made clear, we need immediate and radical action to have any hope of keeping temperature rises to a manageable level.

“We know the big polluters and banks won’t take the necessary action.

"So the next Labour government will kickstart a green industrial revolution, protecting our planet and creating hundreds of thousands of high-wage, high-skill, unionised jobs across the country and delivering investment for communities that have been held back for decades.

“Labour’s 10-year plan will provide the massive public investment needed to radically reduce our emissions and secure a future for our planet.”

Labour said it planned to radically expand offshore wind power with 37 new wind farms over 10 years to create enough energy to power 57 million households, replacing the need for 38 coal power stations.

The party said all new offshore wind farms would have a 51% public stake with 20% of profits – which it estimated at between £0.6bn and £1bn a year – invested into “held-back” coastal communities to create new harbour fronts, parks, leisure centres and libraries.

The remaining 80% of public profits would be reinvested into decarbonising the economy to reduce emissions to net zero and keep global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees, Labour said.

Climate change has climbed the local agenda recently with “climate strike” protests in Lymington and a political row at New Forest District Council in which the Conservatives rejected Liberal Democrat calls for the authority to declare a “climate emergency”.