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Byline Times is an independent, reader-funded investigative newspaper, outside of the system of the established press, reporting on ‘what the papers don’t say’ – without fear or favour.
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Keir Starmer’s Government risks a voter backlash if it goes ahead with mooted plans to cut funding for insulating homes in the upcoming Spending Review, new polling suggests.
The polling, conducted by pollsters Opinium, found that nearly half (46%) of Labour voters surveyed, believes that any retreat from Labour’s manifesto commitment to invest in insulation for the UK’s low-quality housing stock would further reduce trust in Starmer’s Government.
The polling also revealed that among those who voted for Labour in the last general election, but aren’t currently planning on voting for them again, over half (56%) say it would reduce their trust in the party.
Ed Matthew, UK Director for the climate change think tank E3G said “cutting a programme that will make immediate and direct improvements to people’s lives would backfire. The public is sick of wasting money trying to heat cold, leaky houses and want this government to honour its manifesto pledge. If they fail to do so it would demonstrate that Labour have not learned from the winter fuel debacle at all.”
Labour promised to invest £13.2bn in a Warm Homes Plan to help improve leaky and badly insulated housing, which data suggests is making the population sick. A recent Medact survey of 2000 health workers found that 70% of health workers regularly see mental health problems linked to housing, 67% see respiratory issues in children caused by damp and mould and 66% treat disabled people in housing conditions making them sick, at least once a month.
The research is published on the same day that health workers will deliver an open letter to Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting, endorsed by several royal colleges. The letter urges the Government to honour its election promise to reduce energy bills and allocate at least £13.2 billion to a nationwide insulation programme in the upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review.
Maria Carvalho, spokesperson for Medact, commented “it’s simple. All we want is what was promised in the election campaign. That means a fully funded Warm Homes Plan, investment in green jobs, skills, and training, stronger protections for renters after upgrades are completed and delivery of high-quality home retrofits.”
Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said “The Labour Manifesto said the promised funding will offer grants and low interest loans to support investment in insulation and other improvements such as solar panels, batteries and low carbon heating to cut bills. Either they back a Warm Homes Plan to the full extent promised in the manifesto, or they will be punished at the ballot box. The Chancellor must not be able to engineer another ‘Winter Fuel Payment’ disaster by refusing to help tackle fuel poverty and MPs should make that clear.”
Health workers and campaign groups are not alone in trying to prevent the government rolling back the spending commitment. Last week the Financial Times reported that more than 50 companies and trade bodies warned that there would be thousands of job losses if the government were to go ahead with the rumoured cuts to insulation funding.
A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said: “The energy shocks of recent years have shown the need to go further and faster to upgrade British homes, making them warmer and more efficient, while bringing down bills. Up to 300,000 households will benefit from upgrades through our Warm Homes Plan this year, rolling out measures like insulation, double glazing, solar and heat pumps”.
They added “last year’s initial settlement of £3.4bn was a first step – and puts us on a pathway to fixing leaky homes and saving families money.”