Guardian: Net Zero is Killing British Manufacturing
7 hours ago Eric Worrall 24 Comments
Essay by Eric Worrall
“… Time to closely regulate price-gouging gas plants or take ownership of supply …”
Ed Miliband needs a plan for industry – without it, the move to net zero could ruin UK manufacturing
Phillip Inman
Sun 19 Oct 2025 02.00 AEDT
Manufacturing is buckling under sky-high energy bills. Time to closely regulate price-gouging gas plants or take ownership of supply
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Analysis published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in May charted the more recent lurch downwards in output in the UK’s energy-intensive manufacturing industries. Output at the end of 2024 was at its lowest in 35 years.
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Meanwhile, factory owners face further cost increases as they are asked to pay the extra bill for upgrading the country’s electricity grid through higher network charges. Worse, a scheme to protect the 500 most-intensive energy users from next year will be funded by all factories and businesses, making a bad situation worse for the vast majority.
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Miliband, and more importantly Reeves, seem paralysed by indecision. They need to adopt the Stonehaven report or better still, take ownership of the gas supply industry. Labour has had 18 months to decide. Without a plan, the transition to net zero could wreck the manufacturing sector.
Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/oct/18/ed-miliband-needs-a-plan-for-industry-without-it-the-move-to-net-zero-could-ruin-uk-manufacturingWhat is the Stonehaven report? The Stonehaven report was produced by Greenpeace, and advocates imposing price controls on gas companies, to stop them from cashing in when renewable output collapses.
Power Shift: how the Labour government can bring down bills and bolster net zero by curtailing the power of gas
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/10/25/guardian-net-zero-is-killing-british-manufacturing/
