Britain needs an unprecedented expansion of the electricity grid
That means a bigger role for the state, whoever wins the election
For decades the electricity grid—the mix of inverters, pylons, substations and transformers that connects sources of energy to consumers—has barely featured in British politics. Fuel burned, turbines spun and transmission lines hummed as energy moved from power plants to urban centres. Distribution grids took over from there, carrying energy over the last mile into factories and homes, so machinery could whirr and kettles boil.
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This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “The Great Rewiring”
From the January 6th 2024 edition
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British MPs vote in favour of assisted dying
A monumental social reform is closer to being realised
The slow death of a Labour buzzword
And what that says about Britain’s place in the world
Britain’s Supreme Court considers what a woman is
At last. Britons had been wondering what those 34m people who are not men might be
Can potholes fuel populism?
A new paper looks at one explanation for the rise of Reform UK
Are British voters as clueless as Labour’s intelligentsia thinks?
How the idea of false consciousness conquered the governing party