Ecotricity founder Dale Vince (Image: Wayne Starr)

       Labour will lose the next general election if they do not lower Britons’ energy bills, one of the Party’s biggest donors has warned. Green entrepreneur Dale Vince told how net zero sceptics Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage would be taken “more seriously” if the Government fails to slash costs of gas and electricity.

       Mr Vince, who has given more than ￡5 million to Labour, insisted Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are in a “do or die moment” and need to “break the link” between green energy costs and fossil fuels. Labour has pledged to reduce bills by ￡300 a year by 2030, and is aiming to decarbonise the power grid by the same time. While the Conservatives and Reform would ditch a 2050 target to ensure the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced are equal to the emissions removed from the atmosphere.

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       The founder of Ecotricity said: “If they [Labour] haven’t made progress bringing bills down by reforming the energy market then I think people may judge what Kemi and Nigel are saying more seriously and believe them when they say net zero’s not working. ’It’s not bringing our bills down, we need to go back to oil and gas’. That’s the real risk; that Labour doesn't get bills down. They can’t get bills down, even if we get to 100% green on the grid, unless they make some market reforms like breaking the link.”

       The green energy boss is working on a report which proposes changes that will help the Government slash people’s bills.

       He added: “I’m hopeful because Labour has been so bold with NHS England and some other things recently that they’ll grab hold of that [report] and say ‘look’. It’s a kind of do or die moment really because Labour won’t get a second term, I don’t think, unless they bring bills down.”

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       The switch to renewable energy will lower bills by reducing Britain’s reliance on volatile international gas prices, which currently dictate the cost of energy across the country.

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       But the price of energy has risen twice for households since last summer, and bills will rise again in April by up to 5% compared with current levels.

       Mr Vince also insisted the Government has made “mistakes by talking up concrete”, such as a new runway at Heathrow which creates “an illusion of growth”.

       He suggested Britons living near a freshly built air strip should receive payment, similar to ministers’ proposals of money for those living near new pylons.

       When asked whether he was confident about the environment being in a better place at the end of this Parliament, Mr Vince said: “I am confident. Their [the Government’s] heart’s in the right place. I think they’ve made mistakes by talking up concrete like Heathrow and all these other infrastructure projects as if that’s the kind of growth we need.”

       He continued: “Heathrow is a hideously expensive scheme that will make it harder to hit net zero and it will provide minimal, if any, economic benefit to us. The Government’s own forecast said it ranges between small positive and small negative in terms of GDP.

       “Growth is the right thing but there’s no point in having any old growth, or an illusion of growth, which is what a runway at Heathrow is. It’s already Europe’s busiest airport. The idea of the new runway just to become a hub for people to touch down for half an hour then go away again. I say ‘no, thank you’. That can’t be the right thing to do. It would drag half a million people into the impact zone of the airport which are not in it today and that’s wrong.

       “If we’re going to pay people for living near a new pylon, I say we have to pay them for living near a new runway. A pylon is just something that you look at. It’s an aesthetic problem. Living by a runway is noise and pollution. It’s a proper big deal I think.”

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       Mr Vince, who was the party’s biggest corporate donor at the last election, suggested he would continue giving money to Labour “because the alternative is unthinkable”.

       Reform’s Nigel Farage could be the Party’s biggest opponent when Britons next head to the ballot box, he added.

       Asking about continuing to donate to Labour, he said: “If I were to sit in that environment and simulate that myself ‘here comes the next election. Am I going to support Labour?' Yes, of course I am because the alternative is unthinkable. "Farage, actually, is the alternative at the moment that looks most likely.

       “And that’s an unthinkable thing as an environmentalist and someone that cares about social justice and all kinds of things, like the truth. He’s like a pound-shop Trump and we just don’t want him over here, so I would. I haven’t made any promises to myself or to anybody but if I impose that hypothetical on myself, that would be my answer.”

       Mr Vince, who previously seriously considered becoming an MP, told how he has put his ambition of a Parliamentary career behind him.

       When asked about becoming an MP, he said: “No, I decided that and none of the reasons have changed. It just wouldn’t suit me. I guess in particular, I can feel that this side of the election because I can see Labour’s messaging has changed and some Labour ministers have said things that I disagree with and I think are wrong. If I was an MP, I’d probably have a problem being as outspoken as I like to be.”

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       The eco-tycoon has urged the Government to scrap plans to make welfare cuts and replace them with a wealth tax.

       He wants Labour to impose a 2% tax on people with wealth of ￡10 million or more instead.

       Mr Vince added: “There is no shortage of money here, we just need a fairer approach to tax - take more from the few not the many.”