New polling has found that 63% of the UK population support bringing British Gas back into public ownership.

Our polling, conducted by Survation, shows that across all political parties the polling showed a majority strongly or somewhat support bringing British Gas into public ownership. 3 out of 4 of those who voted Labour at the last election want to buy back British Gas, while 68% of Green voters and 65% of Reform voters agree. For Liberal Democrats, 64% supported the policy and half of 2024 Conservative voters also back the plan.

On the back of this polling we have published a new petition calling on Ed Miliband, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, to buy back British Gas.

Under current plans, Labour’s new company Great British Energy will not sell energy directly to UK households: this is a missed opportunity. Buying back British Gas (trading as Scottish Gas in Scotland) as a publicly owned retail wing for the new institution would make it easier to deliver cheaper bills. British Gas has 7.5 million customers who would be able to directly benefit from this move, and households around the country could then choose to switch to the publicly owned provider, so could increase market share over time.

We estimate that buying back British Gas could cost up to a market value of £4 billion though it could be much less, as the government can decide what compensation would be appropriate for shareholders, balancing this with the public interest. £4 billion is equivalent to 0.15% of the national debt of £2,690 billion. The valuation of the company has roughly doubled in the last two years because of huge profits at the expense of households across the country, so this should be taken into account in negotiating a price.

Cat Hobbs, Director at We Own It said: 

“If we want Great British Energy to deliver cheaper bills quickly and easily, it needs a retail arm. Buying back British Gas would give people the option of choosing a publicly owned energy company and getting more money in their pockets. In 2023, British Gas’s profits soared to £750 million - enough to cut £100 from the energy bill of every one of its 7.5 million households.

"Keir Starmer and Ed Miliband have boldly and brilliantly made the case for Great British Energy. Now it’s time to go one step further by buying back British Gas - this would be an investment for the future.

"In other countries like France and Sweden, they have publicly owned renewable generation AND they also give people the option of buying directly from a publicly owned retail company. We need this in the UK if Great British Energy is going to be really ambitious.”

Sharon Graham, General Secretary of Unite the Union said: 

“Profiteering from companies like Centrica should not allowed to go unchecked. Unite has been long been calling for a return to public ownership of our energy infrastructure so that we can bring down customers’ bills and supply British industry with cheaper energy.”

It is normal elsewhere in Europe for households to be able to buy energy directly from a publicly owned company. For example, in France, EDF generates renewable energy and also serves households. Vattenfall plays both of these roles in Sweden.

Sign our petition now, and tell the government to buy back British Gas!