Ed Miliband humiliated as Labour donor slams plan: ‘Massive mistake’ | Politics | News
Ed Miliband has been dealt another humiliating blow as Labour’s biggest renewable energy donor branded the heat pump plan a “huge mistake and waste of money”. Dale Vince, green energy industrialist and owner of electricity company Ecotricity, has donated more than £6.3 million to the Labor Party. But he has been a vocal critic of the energy secretary’s plan to spend billions of dollars to subsidize heat pumps in a bid to wean Britons away from gas boilers.
Mr Vince called the idea a “ridiculous use of public money” and questioned why benefits were being given to those who didn’t need them. He said: “I don’t understand this obsession. You’re probably in energy poverty or low income, the last thing you need is something that’s really expensive to run and makes your house colder. Why are we subsidizing people who are relatively well off?”
“Meanwhile, we keep the two-child benefit ceiling for people who cannot feed themselves. Why do we give benefits to people who are relatively well off?
“There’s no need to bother with heat pumps. Five million people are in food poverty and we’re giving people thousands of pounds for something that’s not necessary. It’s a very middle-class subsidy.”
Under Mr Miliband’s plans, households with heat pumps would receive around £150 a year off their energy bills, funded through a tax on gas bills.
Since the average cost of installing a heat pump is £13,200, Mr Vince argues that people who can afford them don’t need the money from their energy bills.
The government currently has an upfront subsidy of £7,500 towards the cost of switching from a gas boiler to a heat pump; This subsidy has been available since 2022 and is planned to be extended until 2030.
There is also an option for low-income households to have the remaining £5,000 paid by the Government by 2030.
A spokesperson for the Energy Security and Net Zero Office said: “This is speculation.
“We are exploring a range of options to rebalance gas and electricity prices; delivering better outcomes for consumers is at the heart of our approach and we will announce further details in due course. No decisions have been made.”
