Labour promises warm homes for all

The Labour Party has promised to get loft insulation, double glazing and other energy-saving technologies installed in homes across the country if it wins the upcoming General Election.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn announced over the weekend that his party would introduce the scheme, where households could get grants for energy improvements with no upfront costs.

Wealthier households would be offered interest-free loans for energy improvements and landlords will be regulated to make sure their properties are energy efficient.

Labour estimate delivering upgrades to the UK’s entire housing stock will cost around £250bn, or an average of £9,300 per house.

In order to fund the provide, a future Labour government would provide £60bn of direct public subsidy for the programme, with the rest paid for through energy savings.

Under Labour’s plans, it estimates that by 2030, 92% of cavity walls will be insulated, 88% of remaining lofts will be insulated, 62% of homes will have floor insulation, and 60% of homes will have enhanced double glazing.

And it estimates that by 2030, 6.34 million homes will have heat pumps, 5.3 million homes will have solar thermal systems, and 1.75 million more homes will have solar PV.

It estimates that households will need 23% less energy to heat their homes, which will lead to an estimated £11.54 billion annual saving across the UK by 2030.

Labour’s shadow business and energy secretary, Rebecca Long-Bailey, said its Warm Homes for All scheme would be the ‘one of the greatest investment projects since we rebuilt Britain’s housing after the Second World War’.

‘Labour will offer every household in the UK the chance to bring the future into their homes – upgrading the fabric of their homes with insulation and cutting-edge heating systems – tackling both climate change and extortionate bills,’ she added.

Mr Corbyn added: ‘By investing on a massive scale, we will usher in a Green Industrial Revolution with good, clean jobs that will transform towns, cities and communities that have been held back and neglected for decades.’

Photo Credit – Jill Wellington (Pixabay)