NEW energy companies would have to offer to sell shares to community cooperatives if a new bill introduced by a Harrow MP becomes law.

Labour MP for Harrow West, Gareth Thomas, presented his proposal to Parliament on Tuesday last week and explained how he wanted to allow constituents to invest in firms that generate electricity in their area, such as wind farms.

The idea is in to give them a greater say in its operation and to ensure a larger slice of the financial windfall remains local.

The parliamentarian told his House of Commons colleagues: “My bill seeks to keep within local communities more of the wealth and power that our need for energy creates.

“The motivation behind the bill is to make communities more resilient by helping to keep a little more of the wealth from energy generation in local hands.”

Mr Thomas envisages the creation of a body called Community Power Direct to allow individuals to pool their shares through cooperatives in the same way as building societies and foundation hospitals. The organisation would have to be consulted by law on all new energy-generating projects, he said.

The energy generation (planning and right to invest) bill is also backed by Brent North Labour MP Barry Gardiner and will be read for a second time on April 27.