Labour has announced that thousands of civil servants will be moved out of London and relocated to 13 regional hubs to develop and deliver policy across the UK – but none will be located here in the east of England.

Kevin Keable, chairman of the east of England Energy Group (EEEGR), says the government has “blatantly ignored” the region despite desperately needing it to meet its ambitious clean energy and net zero targets.

“We are being ignored,” he said.

Kevin Keable, chairman of the East of England Energy Group (EEEGR) (Image: Newsquest)

“I think where we have naturally fallen down is that we’re not an industrial area like Humberside or Teesside. We just don’t have that level of industry here.

“But they couldn’t even put one person here. Not one, despite this region being absolutely critical to the government to hit its 2030 and 2050 targets. There’s no doubt about that.

“Without us it can’t happen.”

The government has announced thousands of civil servants will be moved out of London to 13 regional hubs - but none will be in the east of England (Image: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero) The move comes as the government aims to cut the number of civil service roles in London by 12,000 and close 11 offices in the capital to save £94m a year by 2032.

Plans also include a new energy campus in Aberdeen - the site of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero's (DESNZ) second headquarters.

Aberdeen is also home to the new government-owned clean energy company, Great British Energy.

Kevin Keable, chairman of the East of England Energy Group (EEEGR), speaking at a reception with the region's energy sector at the House of Commons in April (Image: EEEGR) “Aberdeen won the lottery back in the 1980s when companies moved there, even though we kicked off the oil and gas industry here in the east,” Mr Keable said.

“They have a lot more jobs to lose and Aberdeen relies more heavily than we do on oil and gas and the energy industry in general, with a lot more people employed in it.

“But we’ve got ports in Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and Harwich that are capable of doing more for the wind industry and an awful lot more for decommissioning.

"However, unless they listen to us we’re not going to get that investment.

“We’re also working hard on skills, but we seem to be on our own as they don’t engage with us – and they really need to.”

Great Yarmouth port (Image: Alamy/PA)GREAT BRITISH ENERGY

GB Energy was set up by the Labour government last year to accelerate the transition to clean, home-grown energy, and make Britain a "clean energy superpower".

Its new director of supply chain, Rob Gilbert, attended SNS2025 - an annual two-day energy conference........

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