We have a newly elected Labour government which a huge majority of over 200 seats. So what does this mean for sustainability and for Broadway? 

Comparisons have been drawn with the New Labour landslide of 1997, though the more accurate parallel may be the Wilson government of the 1960s: elected on the promise of modernising the economy through a government-business partnership and playing to our scientific strengths, yet faced with a challenging economic environment. 

What to expect from a Labour govt? 

People

We anticipate no changes as the Shadow Cabinet becomes the government, but we will update and confirm as necessary as the news unfolds. 

Net Zero: We expect Ed Miliband to be back in the role he left in 2010. Miliband is well known to us as he is to many of you. Starmer has talked of keeping Ministers in post for sustained periods to bring more stability to government, so it is possible that he will be leading on net zero for the next 5 years. In his team the key minister is likely to be Kerry McCarthy as Climate Minister. Those of you at our Parliamentary Reception back in January will remember her speech in which she expressed support for Broadway, and we have discussed with her both the role of the Net Zero Council and our wider net zero work. 

We have strong relationships with Mr Miliband’s advisors. It is also rumoured that Chris Skidmore may be appointed to some sort of net zero role; members may remember the session we ran with him as part of his net zero review for the last government.   

Environment: We expect Steve Reed to be confirmed as Defra SoS, with Daniel Zeichner, whom we know well, as Minister of State. We have ongoing dialogue with Defra policy officials in both the Labour Party and the department itself, to make sure we are ready to work with the incoming government on their nature priorities. 

MIssions 

Starmer is championing mission-led government and has set five missions in particular, the two most relevant to Broadway being ‘become a clean energy superpower’ and ‘kickstart economic growth’. 

“Mission-led government’ refers to a focus on outcomes over process and may result in the creation of ‘mission boards’ with authority to pursue these goals across departments. 

Below the Net Zero and Growth Mission Boards the outlines of possible structures are emerging: a statutory Industrial Strategy Council, possibly an ‘Office of Net Zero’, and a National Wealth Fund expected to crowd in private finance to support the industrial strategy and clean energy missions. 

Steve Reed has talked about a need for a stronger partnership between Government, stakeholders and communities to deliver environmental goals, and Broadway stands by to deliver trade association engagement. 

Agenda 

On net zero, Labour is likely to focus heavily on decarbonising electricity in order to meet its extremely ambitious target: to fully decarbonise the electricity supply by 2030. New Ministers will want to move quickly to show this is achievable, while coming under pressure in 2025 to flesh out their longer term plans. Recent court judgements mean they must publish a new net zero strategy by May next year and they will also need to respond to the CCC’s proposed 7th Carbon Budget. On industrial decarbonisation, the National Wealth Fund is earmarked to support industrial sectors, with an emphasis given to the roles of CCS and CBAM.

On the wider environment, the priorities are less clear. A Land Use Framework is the one clear specific manifesto commitment and is likely to be an immediate priority, with Steve Reed outlining other policy proposals in the press during the campaign. Broadway is looking forward to working with the new government to identify ways in which our coalition of business and trade associations can help join up the environment policy landscape and translate goals and targets into relatable, realistic and effective action on the ground.

What it means for Broadway

Broadway exists to create the collaboration mechanisms and policy frameworks to enable business to combine economic growth with delivering society’s environmental and climate goals. That goal remains unchanged, and like many of you we have spent recent months having extensive conversations with Shadow Ministers and advisers, discussing with them how our work relates to their desire to work with business to deliver the Green Prosperity Plan. 

There are clear opportunities ahead: Labour has both a desire to work closely with business and is likely to be keen to do this through formal structures. This instinct will support our aim of joining up and simplifying the business/government dialogue on green issues. Our strong relationship with both officials and the NGOs from whom Labour is likely to seek input will be invaluable.   

Immediate steps

As a Broadway member, you will shortly receive a briefing outlining our immediate approach to the new government, and inviting your engagement. The briefing will cover opportunities to question officials and contribute to early communications, and provide an overview of our priority policy areas. We will mobilise and represent our members and supporters as we move forward with net zero roadmaps, SME engagement, marrying environmental improvement and economic growth, and ensuring high integrity nature markets. We will want to hear from our entire coalition as we progress into this new era.