Labour Pledges to Upgrade Energy Efficiency of Every British Home

Labour has announced plans for a £250 billion efficiency upgrade of every British home, which the party says will cut the nation’s carbon emissions by 10%.

Under the “Warm Homes for All” programme, launched Sunday by Jeremy Corbyn, homes would receive loft insulation, double glazing and new heating systems to boost their energy efficiency, cutting their energy consumption, energy bills, and carbon footprint.

A Labour government would fund £60 billion of these efficiency upgrades, in the form of grants for low income households.

Wealthier households would receive interest-free loans to fund the improvements, the cost of which would be offset by the savings they would see on their energy bills, Labour said.

Nearly all of the UK’s 27 million homes would benefit from improvements by 2030, with carbon emissions falling by 10% by that year. Currently, the residential sector is responsible for 17% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Additionally, 9.6 million low-income households would see their energy bills fall, by an average of £417 a year, Labour estimated.

The project will also support 450,000 jobs in the installation of energy-efficiency measures and renewable and low-carbon technologies.

Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey said the programme would be “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.”

Labour has also pledged to toughen building standards, to ensure all new-build homes are zero-carbon by 2022.

The Conservative Party dismissed Labour’s plans.

“The reality is that Jeremy Corbyn's plans would wreck the economy, putting up bills for hardworking families - and preventing any real progress on climate change,” a party spokesperson said.

“Only Boris Johnson and the Conservatives have a proper plan to continue reducing carbon emissions faster than any other G20 country, building on the 400,000 low-carbon jobs we've already created, while keeping bills low.”