SCOTTISH Labour MP Michael Shanks has been handed a ministerial role in Keir Starmer’s government working on GB Energy.
Shanks, the MP for Rutherglen, has been made a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
It is the lowest of three tiers of ministerial position, beneath junior minister and Cabinet secretary.
Announcing his new role on social media, Shanks said he would be working on delivering GB Energy. However, his official UK Government page does not yet list anything under "responsibilities".
Shanks wrote: “It’s an enormous privilege to be asked by the Prime Minister to be Energy Minister and work on our commitment to create GB Energy.
“We campaigned on a plan for energy independence, green jobs and lowering bills and now we set about delivering it with Scotland at the centre.”
It’s an enormous privilege to be asked by the Prime Minister to be Energy Minister and work on our commitment to create GB Energy. We campaigned on a plan for energy independence, green jobs and lowering bills and now we set about delivering it with Scotland at the centre. https://t.co/sPE6uOftZ6
— Michael Shanks MP (@mgshanks) July 10, 2024
Labour has said it will establish a publicly owned energy company in Scotland as one of its key priorities in government – but has repeatedly refused to say where the firm will be based.
Now Prime Minister Starmer has also admitted that despite Labour’s rhetoric, GB Energy will not actually produce or sell energy.
Instead, it will work as an investment body, pumping public cash into the private sector with the hopes of attracting more investment.
Before his appointment to government, Shanks was a shadow Scotland office minister, a role he took on promptly after being elected in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election in 2023.
Kirsty McNeill, who was elected for Labour in Midlothian, has been given a ministerial role in the Scotland Office.
Accepting her Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State position, McNeill said: "Teaming up with Scottish Secretary Ian Murray in a resurgent Scotland Office, I will work across our country and far beyond to build a brighter future for all.
"Now for action and my absolute priority in the role will be to deliver the change and renewal that Scotland needs – to drive economic growth, create jobs and reduce poverty."
The appointments come after Labour also handed a ministerial position to Maeve Sherlock, a Labour peer.
Sherlock will be a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Work and Pensions. She is an ordained priest of the Church of England.
