Jeremy Corbyn backs Mersey tidal power project

A Labour government will invest £3.5 billion in a major project to harness the power of the River Mersey to generate electricity for hundreds of thousands of homes, Jeremy Corbyn has promised.

The Labour leader will confirm his support for the Mersey Tidal Power Project during a visit to Liverpool on Friday.

The scheme aims to utilise the power of the Mersey and Liverpool Bay to produce clean, renewable energy for up to a million homes while creating thousands of jobs

Labour said its support for the project was part of the party’s commitment to boost investment in the North through its “green industrial revolution”.

“Reversing years of neglect of the towns and cities of the North under the Tories means rejecting the failed economic status quo and investing in our communities and industries of the future,” Corbyn said.

“While Boris Johnson looks to the past and prioritises the interests of his wealthy friends, Labour is looking to the future with plans to ramp up investment in exciting projects like the Mersey Tidal Power Project, which will kick-start Labour’s green industrial revolution, power up the North and create thousands of new jobs.”

Labour says that its green investment plans will create 400,000 new jobs through investment in schemes including the world’s biggest offshore wind farm in the North Sea.

The party plans to establish a £250 billion national transformation fund based in the North, to ensure investment is focused on closing the North-South economic divide.