Blog

For years now, heat pump policy in the UK has been built on a central promise: don’t worry, the costs will come down.

How many times have you heard this line from the Energy Secretary or read it in a DESNZ press statement?

While the media fixate on the relationship between the Prime Minister and his senior civil servants and the processes within Whitehall, it is worth just examining how everyday policy is designed and operated, and we should ask is it working?

The crisis caused by President Trump’s decisions on Iran have had immediate impacts on the price of fuel at the forecourts and also the cost of heating oil for off grid, typically rural homes. Yes, there has been some respite in the form of £53 million to help the least well-off deal with a near doubling of heating oil bills and remember they are often bought in bulk, with upfront costs and there is no energy price cap for off grid fuels.

As we move into the local election period (and Scottish and Welsh parliamentary elections) it is perhaps time to peer into the minds of government and the 400 plus Labour MPs who support it.

Telling truth to power is never easy. It carries risk. Speaking out against an established view sometimes leads to ostracisation; suggesting a policy is failing often leads to being ignored and replaced by someone who will say the emperor is actually wearing clothes and publicly disagreeing can lead to threats of all kinds.

My blog this week is different, it is not aimed at the usual EUA audience but is instead directed towards the 400 plus Labour MPs in parliament.

Last week I met with the accreditation body “Made in Britain”. They ran through their accreditation process needed to use the registered trademark.

It would be bizarre not to address the situation the world finds itself in, war in the Middle East with consequences seen on gas supplies and gas prices.

Over the past year, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what it really means to be an alliance in an energy landscape that’s changing faster than ever.

Last week, the Institute of Economic Affairs published a reported “Just Stop Oil” which questioned the economic logic of its title.

Last week, across a range of sources, our net zero relationship with China came under scrutiny.

As the world was grappling with the economic downturn caused by the global financial crash of 2008, former President Clinton made the case in 2011 that getting people back to work was central to rising living standards.

In the pecking order of civil service roles, those in the Treasury are often the most sought after.

We’ve waited a long time for the publication of the Warm Homes Plan and last week it arrived

Watching the TV news last week, I was relieved not to be living in the Tunbridge Wells area.