After years of neglect, energy policy has become a central focus of public concern and political debate. Insecurity of supply in the face of Russian aggression and years of underinvestment have contributed to a dramatic rise in consumer prices. Government action has limited the impact on bills for the immediate future but has not resolved the long-term problem – how can the United Kingdom make itself more resilient in the fact of volatile international markets and in parallel move towards the goal of an affordable low-carbon economy?

In response to this situation, British Labour leader, Keir Starmer, has proposed the creation of a national energy company – Great British Energy (GBE). This paper seeks to explain the positive roles such a company could play, how it could help to build a low-carbon industrial sector in the British economy, and the ways in which the entity could be financed. The aim is to demonstrate how a new enterprise could fill some of the gaps so evident in the current system and help transform energy from being a source of insecurity and economic damage into a driver of growth, employment, trade, security of supply and an affordable transition to a low-carbon economy.