Buy British – unless you’re making jet fuel

Charlie Garner | 16th June 2026 | In-House Public Affairs

Charlie Garner makes the case for sustainable aviation fuel, arguing that Britain holds a competitive advantage as the market develops.

Rachel Reeves made headlines last month when she told Cabinet ministers to buy British. The Chancellor's frustration was clear: too many government contracts were going to foreign bidders, too much public money was flowing abroad, and too little was being done to back British businesses best placed to grow and create jobs at home. It was a direct, unapologetic statement of industrial intent. The Revenue Certainty Mechanism offers a rare opportunity to put that intent into practice. In its current form, it risks doing the opposite. The RCM is the government's flagship scheme for supporting domestic sustainable aviation fuel production. Modelled on the Contracts for Difference mechanism that underpinned the UK's offshore wind success, it will offer 15-year contracts to SAF producers, guaranteeing a strike price and underwriting the investment needed to reach final investment decision. The public commitment runs to billions of pounds. Once contracts are awarded, the shape of the UK's dome...

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