Campaigners condemn PM's defence of pylons plan

The Norwich to Tilbury pylon project aims to support the UK's net zero target

Comments made by the prime minister that plans for pylons must go ahead regardless of opposition have been described as "damaging" by campaigners.

Sir Keir Starmer recently said plans for overground pylons would need to go ahead to secure cheaper electricity.

In the East of England, National Grid plans for a 114 mile-long (184km) stretch from Norwich to Tilbury, Essex have been set to help achieve the UK's net zero target.

Rosie Pearson, founder of the campaign group Essex Suffolk Norfolk Pylons, criticised the prime minister's comments.

During Sir Keir's first Labour conference as prime minister this week, he said his party would deliver the "national renewal" the country wanted.

However he stressed it would require "trade-offs" including the pylons.

As well as this during an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, he told presenter Nick Robinson sacrifices had to be made and it was unlikely campaigners would stop these "trade-offs".

"I understand people will have their reasons to object, and of course that should be listened to, and we have to make sensible decisions," the prime minister explained in the interview.

"We want cheaper electricity, we need cheaper power, everybody wants their energy bills down.

"We can't pretend that that can be done without the need for pylons above the ground."

Rosie Pearson believed residents affected by the pylons should be "fully compensated" if they go ahead

"It's divisive rhetoric, it's damaging and actually it is only rhetoric at this stage - there has been no change to the law," Ms Pearson said in response to these comments.

"Nothing has actually changed as to the way these projects are decided so, as far as we're concerned for the campaign, it is business as usual and we'll continue through the planning process to fight these pylons for all the previous reasons."

Ms Pearson said she believed offshore alternatives would have less of an environmental impact.

However she felt the new Labour government had taken "no interest in East Anglia".

"We're one of the biggest renewable areas in the country, it's one of the most impacted areas of the grid upgrade and it's being totally ignored by government," she said.

"East Anglia is being thrown under a bus for this government and that's out of order."

Tory MP James Cartlidge wants the government to consider offshore underground cables instead of pylons

James Cartlidge, Conservative MP for South Suffolk, has campaigned against the plans for some time.

He said Sir Keir's comments were "extraordinarily ideological".

"The scientific evidence we have seen shows other options that are better," he said.

"When they look at these planning applications, they're not interested in the alternative.

"They've decided it is pylons or nothing else.

"The government keeps saying their motivation is to reduce people's energy bills but that's a bit rich when this winter 20,000 of my constituents are going to be paying at least £200 more toward their fuel bill because of the abolition of the winter fuel allowance for pensioners.

"It's a terribly muddled position."

'Clean power'

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said its mission was for "clean power by 2030" to protect billpayers and boost the country's energy independence.

“Securing Britain's clean energy future will require improving infrastructure to get renewable electricity on the grid," they said.

"Without this infrastructure, we will never deliver clean power for the British people.

"National Grid has put the Norwich to Tilbury proposals out for public consultation and local concerns will be engaged with through this process."

A spokesperson for National Grid said: "The Norwich to Tilbury public consultations have generated a lot of interest from local communities, with more than two thousand people attending events, in person and online across the region, and more than 10,000 pieces of response feedback.

"Every piece of feedback is being carefully reviewed and analysed to help inform the further development of our proposals, before submitting the Development Consent Order (DCO) application in 2025.

"The key topics raised in the consultation and our response to the feedback will be published in the Consultation Report, submitted as part of the DCO application."