Labour pledges to cut energy bills for good, as homeowners hit by £3k double whammy of mortgage hikes and draughty homes
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New analysis by the Labour Party has shown the double whammy of
costs facing homeowners, as the Tory economic crash and failure to
insulate draughty homes leave homeowners paying £3,200 more per
year. Failure to insulate the UK’s draughty housing
stock is costing the average homeowner in a poorly insulated
property around £550 a year at current energy prices, even as the
Ofgem price cap has started to fall. An average
homeowner buying a new...Request free
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New analysis by the Labour Party has shown the double whammy of costs facing homeowners, as the Tory economic crash and failure to insulate draughty homes leave homeowners paying £3,200 more per year. Failure to insulate the UK’s draughty housing stock is costing the average homeowner in a poorly insulated property around £550 a year at current energy prices, even as the Ofgem price cap has started to fall. An average homeowner buying a new house now on a two-year fix at 75 per cent LTV will be paying nearly £2,700 more than a year ago, with the average interest rate soaring from 2.63 per cent to 4.73 per cent in a year. Labour’s analysis reveals how many homes would benefit from the rollout of a national Warm Homes Plan - a plan that would end the Conservatives’ failure to upgrade homes and cut energy bills by £550 per household. In September 2021, Labour leader Keir Starmer called for an urgent “national mission” to upgrade every one of the homes that need it across the country over the next decade through Labour’s Warm Homes Plan. Labour’s plan would save families at least £550 off their energy bills according to current figures. Labour’s scheme would be led by local councils across the UK, building on the success of Labour councils such as Kirklees Council and mayoralties in London and Manchester, to deliver locally led homes upgrade schemes that are providing warmer homes for local people. At the last election, the Conservatives promised to fund homes upgrades with £9.2 billion in the next Parliament, however analysis has revealed that the government’s spending plans fall significantly short of this target by 2025. This comes after a decade of failure by the Conservatives to introduce a proper national energy efficiency plan. The UK has the least energy efficient housing in Europe, and under the Tories, home insulation rates have plummeted. For example, in 2013 the government cut energy efficiency programmes, after which insulation rates fell by 92 per cent in 2013. Ed Miliband, Labour’s Shadow Climate Change and Net Zero Secretary, said: “One of the reasons that energy bills are so high is the Conservatives’ disastrous record on heating our homes. Energy efficiency rates are now 20 times lower than under the last Labour government, but Rishi Sunak is breaking his manifesto promises, rather than upgrading homes. “Labour’s Warm Homes Plan would upgrade the homes that need it, cutting bills and creating thousands of good jobs for electricians, engineers, and construction workers across the country.” Ends Notes:
Conservative failure on upgrading homes: Of the 29 million existing homes across the UK, at least 19 million still need to be made low carbon, low-energy and resilient to a changing climate. The Committee on Climate Change has said that the building stock needs to be completely decarbonised by 2050, and that to achieve this we need all buildings at EPC C over the next 10 to 15 years. https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sector-summary-Buildings.pdf The UK has the least energy efficient housing stock in Europe: https://green-alliance.org.uk/reinventing_retrofit.php The government’s various programmes for energy efficiency, which task private suppliers with delivering energy saving measures, have consistently failed, with domestic energy efficiency measures having fallen 95 per cent since 2012. https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/CCC-2018-Progress-Report-to-Parliament.pdf Under the Conservatives, home insulation rates have plummeted. In 2013, the government cut energy efficiency programmes, after which insulation rates fell by 92 per cent in 2013. The Resolution Foundation estimates that nine million households are paying an extra £170 per year on energy bills as a result of these failures. Ahead of the Spring Budget 2023, climate and energy think tank E3G published analysis which revealed that the Conservatives have not spent a third (£2.1bn) of the funding pledged for this Parliament to make buildings energy efficient and decarbonise heat. The 2019 Manifesto pledged a total of £9.2bn to 2030, of which £6.6bn was due between 2020-25. Labour’s plan: Labour's Warm Homes Plan would upgrade the energy efficiency of up to two million homes a year - upgrading all of the 19 million homes that need it and helping families to save up to £500 off their annual energy bills. As part of Labour's Green Prosperity Plan, the Warm Homes Plan will give families the grants and loans they need to upgrade the energy efficiency of their homes, cutting energy bills and cutting emissions. Labour’s national plan to upgrade 19 million homes would:
Methodology: Number of households below EPC Band C calculated from combining ONS statistics on number of dwellings per local authority at EPC Band C or above with DLUHC data on number of dwellings per English Local Authority Area. Figures in DLUHC Table 100 Dwelling stock: Number of Dwellings by Tenure and district: England; 2020 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants ONS Statistics on the percentage of dwellings with EPC Band 'C' or above by local authority, England and Wales (2021) |