Keir Starmer confirms Labour U-turn on £28bn green spending

Sir Keir Starmer has blamed the Tories for "crashing the economy," as he scaled back Labour's flagship green investment plan.

He confirmed the party had now abandoned its commitment to invest £28bn a year.

The spending pledge, announced in 2021, had been a key part of the party's plans to reach climate targets and secure green jobs.

But he said Labour was still committed to net zero energy production by 2030.

He added that the party's green investment plans announced so far will stay - but a plan to help people better insulate their homes will be scaled back.

Labour's £28bn spending pledge was first announced by shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves at its 2021 party conference.

The pledge was watered down last June, when Ms Reeves announced the spending target would only be met after 2027, instead of from the first year of a Labour government.

The party then included around £10bn a year of planned government spending in its figure, making the extra spending commitment compared to the Conservatives more like £18bn per year.

Now the party has confirmed that total extra investment compared to government plans will now be around £4.7bn per year.