New research shows millions of people are still living in cold, damp homes, five years into the energy bills crisis. People with existing health conditions are most exposed, with a quarter reporting cold, damp housing. #EndFuelPoverty #WarmHomesPlan #ColdDampHomes #EnergyCrisis [1/3]

What is this? It’s a political stunt from a fossil-fuel funded party, which will increase costs to British people, & through seeking to stop new renewable investment, lower energy security In practical terms it is like behaviour of anti-British foreign agents www.telegraph.co.uk/business/202...

While well-intentioned, UK residents resorting to spreading yoghurt on windows to stay cools shows how disastrously unprepared the country is for extreme heat www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

"Choosing weapons over addressing climate breakdown and social fragility is not an economic necessity, it is a political failure." neweconomics.org/2025/06/euro...

@carladenyer.bsky.social “In public, they claim to be taxing fossil fuel giants more fairly .. but behind closed doors they are giving back with dodgy deals to allow the fossil fuel corporates to continue with business as usual under the guise of CCUS” www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

instead of spending £80bn on HS2, imagine if that amount was dedicated to a multi-decade programme to make safe walking and cycling routes in towns and rural areas

We don't know how the £13.2bn Warm Homes Plan spending will fall, but there's a lot of uncertainty around the £5bn allocated to Financial Transactions (loaned money, not grants) Officially declaring the Warm Homes Plan PSNFL-d

Insanity www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

So much going on in this Greenwich development: - 1,250 homes built on 200 of Ikea's 1000 parking spaces - Only £1.2m for local health services to increase capacity - 2,200 bike racks and a car free estate greenwichwire.co.uk/2025/06/10/g...

The £13.2bn Warm Homes Plan helps to bring UK household along in a just transition to net zero, to end fuel poverty and help people access modern heating systems and solar. I'm looking forward to turning my attention to how it can be most effectively and fairly spent!

Conveniently no mention of what has been spared; the scheme the Sun are referring to predominantly helps low income households lower their heating bills Over half of prospective Labour voters support a nationwide insulation programme (EFPC) www.thesun.co.uk/news/3528258...

NEW ANALYSIS: UK's solar power surges 42% to a new record, after the sunniest spring on record * For the first time, solar was >10% of UK generation in consecutive months (April/May 2025) * In 2025, solar has already avoided gas imports that would've cost £600m www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-uks...

Reform UK’s anti-net zero policies could cost the UK economy £92 billion by the end of the decade and 60,000 jobs lost over the next 5yrs @chaitanyakumar.bsky.social Reform's policies are “reckless, economically illiterate and dangerous for Britain’s future” neweconomics.org/2025/05/refo...

As of today, homeowners upgrading to a heat pump will no longer have to secure planning permission before they can install them! Wipes around £500-£1000 off install cost for affected homes and significantly reduces hassle www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

🏚️ 48% of Labour voters say home insulation promises influenced their vote 📉 46% say cutting funding would further erode trust 🚨 56% of voters leaving Labour say it would push them even further away [2/4]

Our reliance on expensive gas-fired power plants is bumping up energy costs 💸 New UK research from @adambell.bsky.social estimates that removing gas plants from the wholesale market could save £2bn/ year: with a benefit of £23 per household. www.thetimes.com/business-mon...

Great quote @jamesdyson.bsky.social - robbing from the warm homes fund to fund winter fuel payments "is like pouring water into a sieve. The gov must keep its manifesto pledge of £13.2bn for insulation, which will lower people’s bills permanently.” www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Cutting the Warm Homes Plan is a cut to pensioners and people living with a disability, when govt also cuts personal independence payments and winter fuel www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Heart goes out to all the people in Liverpool affected by a horrific attack yesterday evening

Bills are "significantly higher than before the energy crisis and remain tied to the unpredictable cost of fossil fuels. Without urgent reform and real investment, millions will continue to face unaffordable bills and cold homes.” @endfuelpoverty.bsky.social www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

The Warm Homes Plan is one of the most competitive infrastructure investments available to this government E3G analysis finds it will add 0.8% to the UK’s GDP this parliament. For scale, London’s £19bn Elizabeth Line was estimated to add 0.2% to annual GDP over 60 years www.e3g.org/publications...

Thanks to the new data from the CCC we can get an accurate picture of how the pathway for low-carbon heat changed between the Sixth and Seventh Carbon budgets.

Great to work with @theipaper.com and Lucie Heath on this story, which shows how areas in England with the highest rates of fuel poverty stand to lose out if spending on the Warm Homes Plan is manifesto commitment is halved at the Spending Review inews.co.uk/news/areas-t...

Slashing the Warm Homes Plan would be a disastrous false economy Millions are still living in cold, inefficient homes and facing unaffordable bills every winter Reports suggest Rachel Reeves has her eyes on the Warm Homes budget, despite a clear election pledge to deliver the full £13.2bn [1/3]

Today, over 50 businesses write to the Treasury calling on the government to honour their manifesto pledge to invest £13.2bn in their Warm Homes Plan. We're in the FT, read the full story here 1/4 www.ft.com/content/fce6...

@telegraphnews.bsky.social columnist Zoe Strimpel's opening sentence in a column this weekend states: "Ed Miliband is obsessed." [with net zero] The Telegraph has written over 110 articles with "Miliband" in the title so far this year That's one article every 30ish hours Who's obsessed now?

UK politics at the moment

Strong support from UK's heavy industry for @laithw.bsky.social's letter asking government to decisively lower electricity prices to make the UK goods more competitive and incentivise electrification

6/7 UK Assessment is biodiesel in UK is now ‘waste derived’ with very low greenhouse gas emissions *If* US bioethanol replaces biodiesel in UK market, it will lead to an increase in GHG emissions, even assuming figures from bioethanol producers assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5e5f64...

Excellent analysis @eciu.net warns Reform's assault on clean energy in Lincolnshire risks £1bn for the local economy & 12000 jobs 🤯 Tice: “We will attack, we will hinder, we will delay, we will obstruct, we will put up every hurdle... So give up and go away.” www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

All the while, money flows from public hands to energy network shareholders. In 2022, the sector had some of the highest profit margins in the entire UK economy. You are paying the price — with higher bills, a delayed clean energy rollout and a grid suffering from underinvestment.

UK energy networks are underspending by almost half a billion £ every year, compared to what they asked to invest in key infrastructure. "This reflects a regulatory structure that incentivises companies to overestimate required investment & then pocket a portion of the difference as profit."

It’s been hard work for the Labour right wingers in number 10 but they have now nearly completed their mission to eradicate any remotely positive reason to vote Labour. Just a few loose ends left to tie up, incredible stuff lads

UK volume housebuilders predictably complaining about anything of benefit to the ultimate residents - like solar power - that will stop them building bog-standard, identikit rabbit hutches at speed, & selling for enormous prices Which is their preferred business model www.ft.com/content/e33c...

Not sure what to make of this story about less funding for the Warm Homes Plan - we’ll find out in the spending review. But I thought the government wanted to invest more, lower energy bills, boost national security and reduce carbon emissions. This spending would do all four. on.ft.com/3RNW4D1

If UK Labour govt drop £6.6bn energy efficiency pledge it would be one of last bits of the once-promised £28bn per year Green Prosperity Plan going Yet it offers: - lower energy bills - jobs in all parts of UK - better energy security - tangible pushback against populism www.ft.com/content/cc43...

Today, organisations working for a safe climate, better housing and a fairer UK, have come together to speak with one voice on new new standards for the private rented sector. It was a joy to do this hand in hand with @generationrent.bsky.social's Parissa Zand and Rosie Dutch 1/3

Good morning to nearly everyone

Nationwide Building Society find energy efficient buy to let homes are worth significantly more than inefficient ones. A or B rated homes are clearly viewed as a safe bet for landlords with a long term view of government requirements to ensure privately rented homes are affordable to heat. 1/4

📢A new study from @uniofbath.bsky.social shows London's low emissions zones have had major benefits for human health and the economy, with a 10.2% decrease in respiratory issues following LEZ implementation, an **18.5%** reduction in sick leave, and annual public health savings of over £37 million.

When we should be thinking about decommissioning, bill payers are being made to pay UK gas networks top dollar for upgrades which @chrisgalpin.bsky.social describes as gold plating. Good article by Lucie Heath @theipaper.com inews.co.uk/news/bills-r...

% of UK household experienced overheating jumps from 18% to 80% between 2011 and 2022 - and the UK has no policy or grant to reduce the risk of overheating in homes most which are most vulnerable during heatwaves www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Such useful research by Nesta on what people think about street by street home insulation Alongside the amusing finding that people do not trust their neighbours, as Andrew says, spreading costs is a key driver but perceived or actual lower hassle from coordinating improvements is not an incentive!

Cold homes disproportionately affect older people. One of this government's lasting legacies could be to insulate homes rented by older rented people. New @independentage.bsky.social report discusses how we can carefully insulate rented homes lived in by older people, take a look shorturl.at/2tmbQ.

good news energy chat about the growth of solar made me want to share how much I rely on and love my panels. Lived off grid on a boat for 4 years, woulda been pretty miserable without solar. Best part is anyone can learn how to wire up panels and battery :)

New GR research on tenancy deposits - what problems tenants face and what we can learn from other countries. These are the first reports from a year long project funded by @financialfairness.bsky.social

Hidden cost gas boilers on our health. Has anyone seen an air quality study which looks at home boiler NOx emissions disperse in different environments? Do boiler NOx emissions ejected outside end up back inside?