Rachel Reeves has been urged to put the north of England at the heart of the UK’s net zero strategy as research shows the sector contributes a larger share of the region’s economy than it does nationally.
The Labour peer Julie Elliott said the north must be “front and centre” of the Treasury’s growth strategy for clean energy.
Analysis published by the business group Northern Powerhouse Partnership shows net zero accounts for a higher share of regional output in the north of England than it does across Britain, and the north accounts for just over a fifth of the country’s net zero output.
In Sunderland, where the strategy accounts for a higher share of economic output than anywhere else in the north, Labour leaders have warned that Reform UK would dismantle the industry if it wins power at the next general election.
Nigel Farage’s party is expected to take control of hundreds of council seats across the north of England in May’s local elections, and could break Labour’s decades-long grip on Sunderland city council.
Reform UK has pledged to ditch “net stupid zero” policies that it claims are destroying jobs in the oil and gas sector.
Frodsham windfarm in Cheshire. Photograph: Mark Waugh/Alamy
Reeves, the chancellor, has described clean energy as “the industrial opportunity of the 21st century” and said the UK’s net zero sector is growing three times faster than the economy overall.
By 2030, ministers expect the UK’s clean energy workforce to more than double to 800,000 jobs.
A report by The Data City, an analytics firm, shows that net zero supports 140,000 jobs in the north of England, which – at just under 2% of the total – is in line with the UK average.
Yet net zero accounts for a higher share of the region’s economic output, with Sunderland, Tyneside, Warrington, Darlington and Cumberland growing at pace in this relatively new industry.
In those areas, net zero contributes 6-7% of gross value added (GVA), a measure of how much value companies add through the goods and services they produce. It includes high-paid jobs producing electric vehicles and batteries, retrofitting buildings and work on wind turbines and solar energy.
Lady Elliott, the former Labour MP for Sunderland Central who now chairs the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said it was vital for Reeves to build the clean energy strategy around the north of England.
The Nissan production plant in Sunderland which produces electric vehicles. Photograph: Ian Forsyth/AFP/Getty
She said: “If making the north a leader in energy transition isn’t front and centre in growth strategy, how can we expect the national wealth fund or GB Energy to deploy more of their investment up north if the Treasury hasn’t clearly instructed them to do so – as the evidence proves they should.”
Experts said the transition to net zero presented both an opportunity and a risk for the north of England. With Treasury backing, it would support reindustrialisation, raise productivity and anchor long-term investment in regions that have struggled to recover from the loss of heavy industry. However, if net zero jobs are prioritised elsewhere it would “reinforce current disparities” and leave cities and towns like Sunderland and Warrington behind.
Last week, northern leaders welcomed the government’s long-promised commitment to Northern Powerhouse Rail, an improved east-west link to replace the region’s creaking Victorian railways. But many commuters will not see these revamps until the early 2030s, leading many to urge the Treasury to commit to clean energy in the north to deliver an earlier economic boost.
Michael Mordey, the Labour leader of Sunderland city council, said he feared Reform UK would “introduce Trump-like climate change denial policies” that would harm the economy if the party was elected.
He said: “We will only continue to attract more of these well-paid jobs for local people in our city if we keep a Labour council in Sunderland in May.”
