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UTILITY WEEK | 25TH SEPTEMBER - 1ST OCTOBER 2015 | 13 Policy & Regulation Established and well-respected front- benchers have stood down – former energy secretary Caroline Flint among them, say- ing she would be best able to serve the party from the back benches – and a new top team has been put in place. Stepping in to replace Flint is Wigan MP Lisa Nandy, who was "carefully chosen" for the role, says Labour MP Barry Gardiner, despite minimal energy experience. Also joining a relatively inexperienced front bench is new shadow environment secretary Kerry McCarthy, who is now the best know vegan in parliament. Both McCarthy and Nandy face a steep learning curve as they replace the political stalwarts of Flint and former shadow envi- ronment secretary, now shadow defence sec- retary, Maria Eagle. The Corbyn revolution is still in its nas- cent stages, but the conference in Brighton will give us all a clearer idea of where the new Labour (not the Blairite New Labour) will be headed. He was elected on the back of an anti-austerity agenda, framed by his socialist background and helped along with headlines swirling around his "personal wish" to renationalise the six major energy companies and National Grid. Corbyn's policies in his leadership manifesto are more measured. Behind the renationalisation headlines – which he did nothing to stop – are plans to increase competition, modify regulation, boost com- munity ownership and energy projects, and develop a smart power system. Nothing ground-breaking or too revolutionary there. What is of interest now is how the new Labour leader and his shadow cabinet work together to put on a unified front and take forward these policies, and to what extent Corbyn will push for his personal agenda. The SNP explosion Things appear more settled for the SNP, but it is easy to forget they saw their number of MPs jump by more than 800 per cent in May. One result of this has been the migration of the annual autumn conference away from Corbyn's ten-point energy plan Make Britain take the lead in developing the clean energy economy of the fu- ture. Establish an Energy Commission to draft a fundamental shift in UK energy thinking. Produce a route-map into tomorrow's smart energy systems. Bringing new partners into energy policymaking. Conduct a root and branch review of energy market subsidies. Ensure clean-up costs to be met by the energy industry, not the public. Redefine of the roles of Ofgem, National Grid and the Com- petition and Markets Authority. Examine ways to allow communities to be owners of local energy systems, with the right to have first use of the energy they generate. Look at the role of the state as guaran- tor of last resort, with more direct responsibility for back-up generation, high-voltage grids and interconnectors. Commit Britain to binding interna- tional climate change commitments with national and local targets. The parties at a glance Conservatives: Leader: David Cameron Number of MPs: 330 Number of party members: 149,800 Key names for utilities: Amber Rudd, Liz Truss, Andrea Leadsom, Rory Stewart, Lord Bourne Key energy/water policies: Cut subsidies; keep consumer costs down; and deliver water competition Labour: Leader: Jeremy Corbyn Number of MPs: 232 Number of party members: 325,000 Key names for utilities: Kerry McCarthy, Lisa Nandy, Baroness Worthington, Barry Gardiner Key energy/water policies: Increase competition; back community energy; reform Ofgem, National Grid, and the CMA SNP: Leader: Nicola Sturgeon Number of MPs: 56 Number of party members: 110,000 Key names for utilities: Angus MacNeil, Callum McCaig, Calum Kerr, Fergus Ewing (MSP), Aileen McLeod (MSP) Key energy/water policies: Single transmission charge; fund energy efficiency schemes through taxation; a moratorium on fracking. Party conference fringe events Utility Week Lobby, in association with Energy Networks Association, is proud to announce details of a series of special events at all three major party conferences taking place this autumn. Each will feature a panel of politicians and utilities business leaders debating the role of energy and water utilities in the UK today, followed by networking opportunities. • Utility Week Lobby at the Labour Party conference, Brighton Tuesday 29th September, 6:00-7:00pm, Hilton Brighton Metropole Hotel • Utility Week Lobby at the Conservative Party conference, Manchester Tuesday 6th October, 6:00-7:30pm, Manchester Town Hall • Utility Week Lobby at the SNP conference, Aberdeen Thursday 15th October, 5:00-6:30pm, Aberdeen Exhibition Confer- ence Centre UtilityWeekLobby UTILITIES CALL FOR CLARITY OF VISION IN BRIEFING PAPER In the midst of market reforms, technology-driven changes to infrastructure and customer expectation – and against the back- drop of a new government – there has never been a time when clear, focused utilities policy has been more needed by the sector. But as this edition of Utility Week Lobby highlights, this is far from what the industry is getting. In a bid to put this right and to work with policymakers for greater certainty, Utility Week recently hosted a series of high-level policy workshops in association with Bain & Company designed to gain an understanding of the utility indus- try's position on key issues and to create a basis for making recom- mendations for policy action. The meetings were held with company chief executives and senior directors from the energy retail and generation sector, the networks sector and the water sec- tor over the course of three days. In off-the record discussion, these leaders were vocal about the chal- lenges facing their businesses – and the impact that past or current approaches to policy have had on their ability to meet them. Across all of the sector groups represented at our policy workshops, there was a common desire to get to grips with recent transformations – in market struc- ture, regulatory regimes and ways of operating – in a stable policy environment. There was a plea to policymakers to create a context of certainty so that companies can knuckle down to maintaining and rebuilding the trust of consum- ers. Specific ideas about what this would look like for each industry segment were detailed. On the back of these insights, Utility Week has produced a pan- utility policy document which will be distributed at a series of party conference fringe events being hosted by Utility Week and the ENA. The document will also be sent to MPs and MSPs and made available to Utility Week readers. For times and locations of Utility Week's fringe events at the party conferences, see above. continued p18