Incoming prime minister Andy Burnham is reportedly considering radical plans that could cut household energy bills by £130 a year. The plans would make running a heat pump cheaper than a traditional gas boiler.
Energy Proposal Details
The Labour leader will become prime minister on Monday but will begin the process of moving into Downing Street over the weekend. Mr Burnham's allies say he intends to make a “dynamic start” with measures to ease the cost-of-living squeeze.
According to The Guardian, the energy proposal, drawn up by the thinktank Nesta and being examined by Mr Burnham’s team, “would change the way household gas is charged and remove some policy levies from bills, at a cost of £3.2bn a year to the taxpayer.” Making electricity cheaper compared to gas would make running heat pumps a more attractive option, and shave £130 off average bills.
Expert Opinion
Andrew Sissons, the director of Nesta’s sustainable future project, is quoted as saying: “For years, legacy policy costs have been heavily loaded on to electricity bills, making clean heating options artificially expensive. By combining a zero-taxpayer-cost reform of the gas standing charge with these targeted tariff cuts, the government can deliver around £130 a year in immediate financial relief for the majority of UK households, while making clean heating the cheapest option on the market.”
North Sea Drilling Announcement
Mr Burnham is also expected to announce plans for new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea on Monday, according to the BBC. This is despite the Labour Party's 2024 manifesto - which Mr Burnham said he would follow - having pledged to not issue new licences but to honour existing ones.
News of Mr Burnham's North Sea announcement comes as a new poll suggests almost half of people want the UK Government to back new oil and gas developments - more than twice the number who want the current ban on North Sea drilling to continue. A survey for Optimum found 49% back the UK adopting a similar approach to Norway and permitting new developments in the North Sea, while 24% want to see Labour maintain its opposition.
Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), which commissioned the polling, said it showed that “the British public are looking for huge change in energy policy from the new Prime Minister”.
Other Measures
The BBC reports the North Sea announcement will form part of a "flurry of measures" from Mr Burnham that will include plans to take water and energy companies under public control and a new council house-building programme.
On Thursday, it was also announced British Steel was brought under public ownership to protect “the future of steel production”, the UK Government announced. The Department for Business and Trade said the move was essential to maintain steel production at the company’s site in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, to protect both the company’s future and UK supply chains.
