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“It’s the time to build on the progress we have made. We offer a good life for those willing to try – because we are the party of working people.” David Cameron, prime minister (Conservative)

CONSERVATIVE MANIFESTO

Election / Party conferences

Manifestos under scrutiny

The party manifestoes are out, but are they a governmental to-do list, or a starting point for inevitable coaliton negotiations? Mathew Beech takes a look at what’s on offer for voters.

T

he manifesto launch is the final set piece for the major political parties in the run-up to polling day. Their final chance to wow voters. Traditionally, manifestos comprised a series of pledges outlining what a party would do upon winning a majority after the election. But in the world of coalition governments we now appear to be living in, giving cast iron guarantees to the electorate can be a dangerous thing to do. Just mention tuition fees to Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg. With Labour and the Conservatives both looking likely to get between 280 and 290

MPs, their manifestos are both a plea to voters to push them toward the magic 326 mark and also a series of ambitions and a starting point for the seemingly inevitable coalition negotiations that will have to take place after 7 May. We have a number of “red lines” already set out – the energy price freeze and replacing Trident among them. As to how red and how firm these lines really are, we will only find out when the party bigwigs sit around the table and try and work out what they need to do to form a government. Daily updates: www.utilityweek.co.uk

KEY POINTS OF MAIN PARTY MANIFESTOES Conservative: Light on utility specifics, the Tory manifesto at least acknowledges energy as important, following MP Phillip Lee admitting to Utility Week last month his party did not have a clear energy policy. • The big Tory energy policy is to “halt the spread of subsidised onshore windfarms”. They lack public support, so the party will end new subsidies for them. (See this week’s interview on page 8 for an alternative view.) • A Conservative government will implement the recommendations of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation into the energy sector. • The Conservative commitment to shale gas has made it into the manifesto, with the party pledging to “support the safe development of shale gas”.

Labour: Labour’s key policies have been well trailed and the party will be hoping that restating them in the manifesto will give them a fresh impetus and prevent campaign fatigue from setting in. • Labour reaffirmed its commitment to freeze energy prices until 2017 while it reforms the market, including creating a new regulator, introducing an energy pool, and separating the vertically integrated big six. • It will set a timetable for the Green Investment Bank to be given additional powers so that it can invest in green businesses and technology. • Water companies will be required to sign up to a national affordability scheme designed to help those struggling to pay their bills.

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Lib Dems: Building on their record in government is the key theme – as the Lib Dems try to glean credit for their policies that were introduced in the last parliament. Energy and the environment form a central part to their manifesto. • The setting of a legally binding decarbonisation target range for 2030 for the power sector of 50-100g of CO2/kWh. This can be achieved by expanding renewables to about 60 per cent of the total. • A low-carbon transition fund will be established, using 50 per cent of any tax revenues from shale gas to fund energy efficiency, community energy, low-carbon innovation and renewable heat. • All water-stressed areas will get meters by 2025, and help to develop national social tariffs to protect low income households.

NUMBERS ­AMID THE FANFARE

3.1m Number of people on better energy tariffs, according to the Conservatives

1m Number of interest-free loans Labour will make available for energy home improvements in the next parliament

30% Lib Dem target market share for non-big six suppliers by 2020

42GW Green Party target for community generation by 2020

The Tories are hoping their alliance with the Wizard of Oz has given them a heart to go with the brains the public perceive them to have in terms of fiscal responsibility. Their Australian general election campaign strategist Lynton Crosby (aka the Wizard), is behind their campaign to get David Cameron re-elected as prime minister, ideally with a Conservative majority. Crosby is hoping to show the Conservatives in a different light, and to usurp Labour as the party for working people, with pledges to give the NHS “whatever it needs”, alongside a retro “right to buy” promise, and a pledge for a tax-free minimum wage. As for energy, a certain amount of shapeshifting has taken place, with Lib Dem policies, a Labour policy, and even something from Ofgem claimed Conservative material. The one true blue policy that stands out is the commitment to “halt the spread of subsidised onshore windfarms”. This has been slammed by Renewable UK deputy chief executive as “breathtakingly illogical and idiotic”, while Greenpeace said it would result in higher energy bills because it effectively ruled out the cheapest renewable technology. There is a little wiggle room here for Cameron, as what constitutes a new subsidy could be questioned, and the final say will rest with local communities, rather than the secretary of state. There is also a nod to the prime minister’s commitment to go “all out for shale gas”, with plans to “safely develop” the technology, and also for continued support for oil and gas.

“Hugely optimistic and positive speech from Dave setting out the Conservatives’ plan for the next five years.”

Pinched from the yellow side of the coalition comes the promise to promote competition in the energy market to keep bills low, and a promise that climate change commitments will be met – although this has been blue-washed with the caveat “as cheaply as possible to save you money”. One day switching has been claimed from the Lib Dems, coupled with the policy introduced by Ed Miliband when he was energy Conservatives: secretary, for every home to 307 seats have a smart meter installed. Completing the set, the Tories also claim credit for the current investigation into the energy market, being carried out by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) after a referral from Ofgem. Taking credit for the changes in advance, the manifesto says it will make all the changes recommended by the CMA in order to improve the market for consumers. The brief mention of water was the party’s support the Thames Tideway Tunnel. Pinching ideas from their coalition partners, and keeping the promises vague, means that should the Conservatives be looking to bunk up with another party again to form a government, energy and the environment are unlikely to be sticking points, especially if it is with the Lib Dems, who are bullish about retaining most of their seats.

“This manifesto is a desperate throw of the dice from a party that knows it can’t win the ­election.”

UKIP Further to the right of the Tories, Ukip is hoping for a bit of a reinvention. Leader Nigel Farage called his party’s 2010 manifesto “complete drivel”, but is proud of this year’s, fully costed, offering. It puts the party firmly against renewables, unless they “can deliver electricity at competitive prices”, and so plans to remove all subsidies for them. As a bonus this would “level the playing field” for coal plants, forming part of a renaissance in coal as a Ukip government abandons the EU’s Large Combustion Plant Directive and reneges on the Climate Change Act. Support for fracking completes a pro-fossil fuel stance. Ukip also proposes scrapping the Department of Energy and Climate Change, merging its “essential powers” into another government department, as part of its efficiency savings across Whitehall. Unite calls the plan “beyond barmy”.

“On the major issues of the day - immigration, the economy, the NHS and living standards – the establishment parties have let us down, time and time again.” Nigel Farage, Ukip party leader

Boris Johnson, London mayor and parliamentary candidate for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Conservative)

Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury (Lib Dems)

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“The Liberal Democrats will add a heart to a Conservative government and a brain to a Labour one.”

The Greens For the Greens, developing into a major political player is the aim of the game. With only one MP in the last parliament, they are seeking to grow and gain a real say in the UK political landscape. Leader Natalie Bennett aims to achieve this by giving power back to the people. She wants to grow community energy to 42GW by 2020. The Greens hope to give a political home to disillusioned Lib Dems by staunchly remaining opposed to fracking and nuclear power. Renewable energy takes the focus instead, with the Greens suggesting £35 billion should be invested over the next parliament to fund a rapid expansion of renewables. Tory peer Lord Deben welcomed the ambition shown by the Greens, but not their approach to achieving a greener economy. “This has to be an evolutionary process, building stage upon stage,” he said. “I admire their tenacity, share their concerns, but doubt their tactics and question their solutions.”

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Nick Clegg, deputy prime minister (Lib Dems)

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS MANIFESTO

Lib Dems: 57 seats

“Tackling the environmental crisis we face isn’t a luxury only for the good economic times - something that can be discarded when times are tough, like that extra cappuccino on the way to work.”

The 2015 general election has got the Liberal Democrats facing a perfect storm: tainted after five years in government with the Conservatives; under siege in Scotland from a buoyant SNP, and overtaken by both Ukip and the Green Party in popularity. Deputy prime minister and party leader Nick Clegg faces a washout on polling day. But rather than break under pressure, Clegg and his party are showing an unsinkable belief that they can still be significant players as future coalition partners. The Lib Dems have played that to their advantage, with Clegg saying it is a choice between him, Nigel Farage, or Alex Salmond when it comes to who can temper the cuts or spending of the next government. The five green laws, unveiled in September last year, make up the backbone of the Lib Dems’ energy policy. They adorn the front page of the manifesto and, according to Clegg, are nonnegotiable. The Lib Dems want to set a decarbonisation target range of 50-100g of CO2 per kilowatt-hour by 2030, and claim a 60 per cent renewable energy mix will see the UK hit that target. The green credentials are also boosted by the pledge to remove all unabated coal by 2025, and for new gas plant to be fitted with carbon capture and storage technology from 2030. The manifesto tries to regain ownership of the policies they have introduced over the past parliament, such as the promotion of competition in the energy retail sector. Building on what energy secretary Ed Davey views as his success,

the manifesto targets a 30 per cent market share for the smaller suppliers, and 24 hour switching, to “supercharge competition”. On the investment front, the Lib Dems have shadowed Labour, setting out plans to give the Green Investment Bank more powers to borrow money, expanding its remit, and allowing it to issue green bonds. Should the two pair up, this will be an easy area of agreement for Miliband and Clegg. Another, somewhat surprising, area of agreement between red and yellow is water. When water minister Dan Rogerson was interviewed by Utility Week in October last year, he said social tariffs should only be offered “where they’re right and customers are supportive of that” and that the issue of cost is “Ofwat’s baby”. However, the manifesto reveals the Lib Dems are advocates of a national social tariff, which echoes Labour’s proposed national affordability scheme. For shale gas, the Lib Dems are backing the the industry – as are both of its potential senior coalition partners. In a nod to the green element of the party, the manifesto outlines plans to use 50 per cent of the tax raised from fracking for a low-carbon transition fund. This will support energy efficiency, community energy, low-carbon innovation and renewable heat. The party also plans to make sure the used fracking wells are offered at no cost to geothermal heat developers. Clegg and his party have set out their stall. They are not going for the win. What they want is to climb aboard with the Tories or Labour, and that can be seen in their manifesto. Given the opportunity to decide who will be the next prime minister, Clegg hopes to chart a course anchored in the centre ground.

“We delivered on huge amounts of our manifesto. But people are getting used now to coalition politics. Coalition politics does require a compromise.” Ed Davey, energy secretary (Lib Dems)

People know that the Lib Dems’ manifesto can’t be trusted. They broke the key promises in their last manifesto and are repeating them once again.” Caroline Lucas MP (Green)

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Harriet Harman, shadow deputy prime minister (Labour)

LABOUR MANIFESTO

SNP

Labour’s manifesto arrived with a huge sense of deja vu. Leader Ed Miliband unveiled his party’s plans for government, trying to show the fiscal responsibility the public doubt Labour has. Miliband unveiled the price freeze pledge in September 2013. The manifesto confirmed it last week – leaving commentators feeling a little like they’d strayed on to the set of Groundhog Day. Shadow energy secretary Caroline Flint announced plans for energy efficiency to become a national infrastructure priority. The 2015 manifesto set outs plans for a “major drive for energy efficiency”. Last September, shadow environment secretary Maria Eagle set out her vision for a reformed water sector, with companies signing up to a national affordability scheme. That idea was confirmed here. The manifesto aimed to show that Labour can be financially responsible, as well as looking out for hardworking people and the NHS, and to make Ed Miliband look prime ministerial. If they can successfully pull both off, the party still (publicly at least) says it has a chance of winning a majority. On energy, plans are well rehearsed. A new Labour government would introduce a 20-month price freeze that prevents prices rising, but allows them to fall. The reforms of the energy market will take place, starting by giving Ofgem powers and a duty to force suppliers to pass on falling wholesale costs. The party will look to break up the vertical integration of the big six, reintroduce an energy trading pool, and create a new watchdog “with teeth” that will protect consumer interests – as well as filling the roles currently occupied by Ofgem. Plans for an Energy Security Board, to fulfil

an Office for Budgetary Responsibility-type role for the energy sector were also confirmed. As were Labour’s intentions to give the Green Investment Bank more powers to borrow money, and to issue green bonds to support community and renewable energy projects. The Lib Dems have adopted Labour: a similar stance. 258 seats Repeats of their stance on shale gas – a “robust regulatory regime” is required before exploration can take place – were shown, as was Labour’s plan to introduce a decarbonisation target, which aims for a zero carbon electricity system by 2030. The pledge to shake up the water sector, by giving Ofwat new powers to change licences – reigniting the section 13 debate – and the creation of a mandatory national social tariff also reappear. There are few rabbits pulled out of a hat or unanticipated goodies in the Labour manifesto. That is fully intentional. The aim of the game for the opposition is to portray itself as responsible, with policies that are long in gestation, but that will make a real and beneficial difference to voters. Announcing a surprise bonus only a few weeks away from the election would mess up the hard work the party has put in over the past few years to show itself to be prudent. Whether it is enough to convince voters to vote Labour, only polling day will reveal, but currently 40 per cent of them still view the Conservatives as more trustworthy fiscally than Labour (21 per cent), according to Opinium Research.

“This is a very meaty, policy-rich manifesto.”

“The three old parties collude to reinforce failing energy policies that will do nothing to reduce global emissions… Their ‘green’ agenda does not make them friends of the earth; it makes them enemies of the people.”

Michael Gove, chief whip (­Conservative)

UTILITY WEEK LOBBY POLL TRACKER 19 April 2015 – YouGov poll Party Share Change (from 12 Apr) Conservatives 34% +13 Labour 33% -1 Lib Dems 8% +1 Ukip 13% 0 Green 5% 0 Other 5% -1

Roger Helmer MEP, energy spokesperson

Next week:

The SNP has backed plans to force energy suppliers to cut energy bills when wholesale prices fall. Launching the SNP manifesto, leader Nicola Sturgeon said a vote for her party is “a vote for action on energy bills”. She also pledged the SNP would push to keep the winter fuel allowance. This chimes with Labour’s commitment for Ofgem powers to force suppliers to cut energy bills to reflect falling wholesale prices – and could smooth confidence and supply negotiations should a minority Labour government need SNP backing in the House of Commons. Rather than just ruling out working with the Tories, Sturgeon went as far to say she would look to join the “anti-Tory majority after 7 May, and vote to stop a new Tory government even getting off the ground”.

“This is a manifesto bursting with ideas and ambition.” SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon

“The most expensive ransom note in ­history.” Michael Fallon defence secretary (Con)

Regulation and competition

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