Sir Kier Starmer delivers his victory speech in North London
The Labour Party has been elected to form the next UK government after promising to double investment in domestic energy efficiency.
The party, led by Sir Kier Starmer, swept into power with a huge parliamentary majority.
In the party’s manifesto, published last month, Labour said it will invest an extra £6.6bn over the next parliament in energy-efficiency measures. This would double existing planned government investment, enabling five million homes to be upgraded.
The manifesto says that Labour will ensure private rented-sector homes meet ‘minimum’ energy-efficiency standards by 2030, which it claims would save tenants ‘hundreds of pounds per year’. It also pledges that ‘nobody will be forced to rip out their boiler as a result of our plans’.
The manifesto says the government will work with councils and devolved administrations to roll out its Warm Homes Plan, offering grants and low-interest loans to support investment in insulation and other improvements, such as solar panels, batteries and low carbon heating. The Labour Party manifesto also includes pledges to double onshore wind, triple solar power, and quadruple offshore wind by 2030.
In a bid to allay concerns that the 2030 push for a decarbonised Grid will imperil the UK’s energy security of supply, the manifesto says the government will maintain a strategic reserve of gas power stations.
It says it will establish the publicly owned Great British Energy to invest in clean energy and will aim for almost all of the country’s electricity to be UK-generated and zero carbon by 2030.
It also says Labour will extend the lifetime of the UK’s existing fleet of nuclear plants – most of which are due to shut down during the upcoming Parliament – to ensure the sector’s ‘long-term security’.
The manifesto says that local communities benefit directly from hosting clean energy infrastructure.
There is a commitment to upgrade four million homes to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band C in their first term and invest £2.3bn per year to provide financial support for households to insulate their homes.
It pledges to ensure all council and housing associations reach EPC band C and commits to providing funding to support councils and housing associations to build new homes to Passivhaus standards.
Ed Matthew, campaigns director at climate and energy think tank E3G, said Labour’s manifesto will ‘kick-start a mission for energy independence and economic renewal, with net zero investment at its heart’.
‘Labour has recognised that upgrading our homes will be key, and we welcome the investment boost and reinstatement of higher efficiency standards in the private rented sector. This manifesto gives hope that the UK’s leadership in tackling the climate crisis will finally be restored.’
CIBSE said it welcomed Labour’s pledges on zero carbon target, clean energy and housing, and looked forward to ‘collaborating with the new administration to reduce energy demand in buildings.’
It said: ‘We look forward to working closely with the new administration to help make these ambitious plans a reality, ultimately contributing to a greener, more resilient future for the UK.’
CIBSE’s manifesto, published before the elections, can be found at www.CIBSE.org
