Burnham to set out grid plan in first Labour conference speech

Andy Burnham is expected to announce a publicly owned electricity-grid body and outline commitments on social care and youth unemployment in his first Labour Party conference speech as prime minister, scheduled for Tuesday in Liverpool. The proposed Great British Grid would sit within Great British Energy and compete for connection projects, with Labour saying it would use existing Great British Energy budgets. The body is intended to speed up connections for businesses by increasing competition for projects and supporting companies that build connection infrastructure themselves. Labour says Great British Grid could support or co-invest in that work, alongside private network companies. The full remit and operating arrangements have not been set out. Labour says its goal is to bring UK energy costs into line with those in other European nations within 10 years. That is a stated target, not a reported outcome. The party says the new body would help achieve it by speeding up delivery and supporting investment in the grid.