Energy and manufacturing sector on UK General Election

Capital Group

Will Hedden, Dealer, London Capital Group commented, “a Conservative victory is being seen as an immediate removal of the threat on price caps to energy providers, which was on the cards if Labour had come to power. Shares in BG owner Centrica have benefitted from the imminent Conservative victory.”

EEF

Terry Scuoler, Chief Executive, EEF said, “during the campaign we called on party leaders to build on the foundations of growth, with continuity and stability in business policy. That is now what we expect the newly elected government to deliver. There is a real opportunity to properly rebalance the economy and ensure a strong focus across government on investing in and, building on, our industrial strength as a manufacturing nation.

“There are many issues to tackle for a new business and industry secretary, which is why we need a really big hitter in that role. He or she will have an in tray which will include the need to tackle some of the issues, which will help Britain embed and build on the recovery. These include reversing the trade deficit, tackling an energy policy which remains a mess and redoubling efforts to deal with a creaking infrastructure by getting on with important projects, especially building a new airport hub.

“The biggest threat to our long term economic well being, however, remains the prospect of leaving the EU. Mr Cameron will be under pressure to call a referendum as soon as possible, possibly bringing it to next year. The new administration must move quickly and campaign on the back of a strong and positive case for Britain’s continued membership. Any drift or dithering on this issue will mean uncertainty for British businesses, which would be very unhelpful for the long term prospects of the economy.”

RenewableUK

RenewableUK has said that the new government should send an early signal that it’s serious about supporting low carbon energy to attract investment and create jobs.

Maria McCaffrey, Chief Executive, commented, “we hope that one of the new government’s priorities will be to act quickly to secure our home grown energy supplies based on clean sources including wind, wave and tidal power. We urge the new administration to confirm the importance of onshore wind as an essential part of our electricity mix, as it is one of the most cost effective ways to generate electricity, and is consistently supported by two thirds of the public. As long as we can continue on our current course, onshore wind will be the cheapest of all power sources by 2020, so it makes sense to support it.

“For the renewable energy sector as a whole, the most important signal that the Government could send to show that it’s serious about cleaning up the way we generate electricity would be to set a clear 2030 decarbonisatoin target to provide long term certainty. This would attract the investment needed for growth. More than 34 000 people now owe their livelihoods to the British wind industry, onshore and offshore. Britain’s global lead in offshore wind is bringing major manufacturers to the UK. If the new government values that green growth and is serious about stimulating the economy, it needs to get behind this industry as swiftly as possible.”

Edited from press releases by Claira Lloyd

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/offshore-and-subsea/08052015/election-comments-so-far/