Labour Manifesto: Energy Efficiency – A National Infrastructure Priority??

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On November 10th, 2014 the Labour Party launched a green paper, entitled ‘An end to cold homes’. Chilly November was a very appropriate time of year to launch a strategy which could benefit the most vulnerable in our society. Eighteen days after Labour launched their strategy, AGE UK highlighted that the winter of 2013/14 had seen 18,200 excess winter deaths from cold-related illness such as heart attacks and strokes.

The Labour green paper contained bold commitments to improve energy efficiency across the United Kingdom’s aging housing stock (UK homes are some of the most expensive to heat in Europe because of poor maintenance and insulation.) These commitments included offering up to a million interest free loans in the next parliament for energy efficiency home improvements, improving the energy performance of 200,000 low-income homes annually and by designating energy efficiency as a national infrastructure priority.

Yet now, in the warmer spring weather, this commitment to dealing with cold homes as a national priority has slipped out of the Labour manifesto launched on the 13th of April 2015.

To be clear, the Labour manifesto still retains many positive, welcome position statements with regard to energy efficiency, fuel poverty and climate change. It speaks of a ‘major drive’ for energy efficiency. It commits to making 200,000 homes more energy efficient and of enforcing a ‘decency’ standard on three million private rented sector homes. It would see climate change made a central pillar of the United Kingdom’s foreign policy.

These are all welcome ambitions, and should be applauded for their breadth and scope.

Yet what of that commitment to energy efficiency as an infrastructure priority, nationwide? It would appear to have been edited out of the manifesto. Labour politicians- such as Jonathan Reynolds MP- have emphasised on twitter that the policy remains as stated in the green paper, which would mean that this edit can only have been an unfortunate oversight. However, they point only to a draft document issued as a consultation by Ed Balls on the remit of Labour’s proposed National Infrastructure Commission. A consultation is of course just that, not an absolute statement of policy.

From an industry’s perspective, the language and the subtleties of whether something is a manifesto commitment or not matters greatly. Time and time again, we have seen Governments enter office and through the inevitable process of internal negotiation that takes place between Government departments -particularly with the Treasury- the content of manifesto commitments has mattered greatly ensuring politicians are accountable for their pre-election promises. So despite the valiant efforts of the Labour Energy front bench team to reassure people that energy efficiency remains a National Infrastructure Priority it is simply not good enough to point to draft documents or consultations in support of a strong policy line – it simply does not hold weight once in Government.

Few have done more than Caroline Flint and Jonathan Reynolds in recent months to make clear that Labour accepts the argument on the compelling economic case for a step change in our ambition to retrofit Britain’s cold, leaky buildings with modern up to date energy measures. They are to be applauded for their work in setting out some ambitious targets and clear means to achieve them. This being said, the absence of an explicit description of energy efficiency as a National Infrastructure Priority can only be corrected with a strong, public statement from Ed Milliband and Ed Balls.

The Labour Party in its constitution commits to create the means for each of us to realize our true potential. The party commonly argues it is the party that embodies social justice. A useful and constructive way to communicate these values to the electorate would be to wholeheartedly embrace this policy. After all, the scale of the effort needed to improve our housing- and wider building stock means that a comprehensive and complete overhaul is required.

Despite the materials required and the necessity for many jobs to be created to deliver this energy and buildings overhaul, this initiative should not be considered a ‘cost’ for our economy. It is an investment, and one which will deliver a compelling return. Building based solutions offer substantial CO2 savings and would save the economy over £12 billion annually if properly implemented. This equates to the populace being £189 better off per head, each year.

Ipsos-Mori polling in February has shown that the electorate now considers policies to be more important than either the political party brand or the party leaders’ personalities in making their decision on the ballot. Sensible policies will win this election.

Labour is frequently acknowledged to be the party which positions itself as a ‘caring’ party. As such, a policy for energy efficiency as a national infrastructure priority should lie close to Labour’s heart.

Of course, in the current climate of fiscal austerity, political parties must demonstrate they would manage the country’s finances with a frugal astuteness. This is exactly why this policy is a winner. It represents a route to reduce fuel poverty, combat carbon emissions and help lower the deficit. The Labour party, led by Ed Milliband, should seize this electoral opportunity before his opponents do and commit unequivocally- perhaps in a keynote speech- to a national infrastructure strategy for energy efficiency.