County Cllr Welcomes Warm Homes Commitment as part of a wholesale energy plan

County Cllr Julie Gibson, the Labour Shadow Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change has welcomed new analysis by the Labour Party which reveals how many homes would benefit from the rollout of a national Warm Homes Plan. The analysis shows how the UK has the least energy efficient housing in Europe, and under the Conservatives, home insulation rates have plummeted.

Cllr Gibson said: “Analysis by Labour breaks down the number of homes per local authority area in the UK that are below EPC Band C and would therefore be in line for an upgrade. For example, in West Lancashire there are currently 32194 homes that would benefit from such an upgrade. One of the reasons that energy bills are so high is the Conservative’ disastrous record on heating our homes. Energy efficiency rates are now twenty times lower than under the last Labour Government, but Rishi Sunak is breaking his manifesto promises, rather than upgrading homes. Labour’s Plan would upgrade the nineteen million homes that need it, cutting bills and creating thousands of good jobs for electricians, engineers, and construction workers across the country.”

Cllr Gibson continued: “The analysis has also 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. Just this week we also saw that mortgage rates are rising leaving many homeowners worried about how they will afford to pay them. This, coupled with the spiralling food prices and rising energy bills is leading to a deeper and more prolonged cost of living crisis than anyone could ever have predicted.”

Cllr Gibson said: “The climate crisis – already the biggest long-term threat we face – is accelerating in Britain and around the world and, while the action we need to take and the threat we face has become clearer, global emissions continue to rise and we remain significantly off track to limit global warming to 1.5C. Labour’s plan, as part of an overall wholesale energy plan would freeze energy bills with a windfall tax on oil and gas companies, establish a new publicly owned energy company, putting people not profit at the heart of our energy. Insulation would reduce our use whilst putting more money in people’s pockets.”