Great British Energy Bill Report Stage: Amendment 4

Parliament defeated Amendment 4 to the Great British Energy Bill on 29 October 2024 by 353 votes to 96. The amendment, tabled by the Liberal Democrats, would have placed an explicit duty on Great British Energy to deliver an emergency home insulation programme with targeted support for people on low incomes, alongside its existing remit to expand renewable energy. The vote matters because it determined whether home insulation for low-income households would be written directly into Great British Energy's statutory duties. Supporters of the amendment argued that cold, damp housing imposes a measurable cost on the NHS, citing an estimated £1.4 billion spent annually treating related illnesses, and that households already forced to choose between heating and eating needed urgent, targeted action. The government's position was to keep Great British Energy's remit focused on clean energy production without mandating specific delivery mechanisms within the legislation. Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs voted unanimously against the amendment, providing the bulk of the 353 noes. The Liberal Democrats provided nearly all of the 96 ayes, joined by the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru, the Green Party, the Democratic Unionist Party, and the Ulster Unionist Party. There were no notable rebels on either side. The vote reflects a wider disagreement about how prescriptive Parliament should be in setting Great British Energy's operational priorities, with smaller opposition parties pushing for social and environmental duties to be placed directly in the Bill.