Fearless Hopkins hailed for energy EDM

The Campaign for Public Ownership congratulated Mr Hopkins for putting down a Commons early day motion (EDM) urging a national energy corporation to restore public ownership.

Campaign co-founder Neil Clark declared: "We urge everyone to write to their MPs to ask them to sign Mr Hopkins's EDM 1160.

"The great privatised energy rip-off must be ended without any further delay."

Mr Clark described the situation in Parliament as "a classic Emperor's New Clothes scenario," with Mr Hopkins having the courage to stand up and point out what everyone else knew but was too frightened to say.

"Since the privatisation of the utilities in the 1980s, consumers and taxpayers have been ripped off in the most outrageous manner," said Mr Clark.

"And we are all paying far more for our bills than would be the case if the industries had not been privatised."

Mr Clark emphasised that with fuel poverty forecast to hit around nine million people by 2016, it was urgent that the status quo must not be allowed to continue.

He described it as "depressing" that the Labour Party was failing to officially support renationalisation, and was still "tied to clapped-out neoliberal solutions."

Labour MPs who have so far signed EDM 1160 are Martin Caton (Gower), Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North), Paul Flynn (Newport West), John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington), Ian Mearns (Gateshead), Grahame Morris (Easington) and Dennis Skinner (Bolsover).

Respect MP George Galloway has also signed up.