Time for warm action, not just warm words?

In my days as a physics teacher (please don't stop reading in fear or disgust) I used to teach that trapped air created good heat insulation. And so it does. Insulation in cavity walls and in the loft makes our homes much more efficient at keeping in heat. Less energy is wasted, saving us money on heating bills. And we help to save the planet by burning less fossil fuel.

Now Putin's war in Ukraine highlights this issue by putting pressure on our energy supplies. So better insulation in our homes helps to defeat Putin. And it helps to prevent winter power cuts.

You would think that the Conservative government should have acted with a sense of urgency to insist that newly built homes are really well insulated. And where it makes sense, to install solar panels too. If only they had!

Then what about helping people living in existing homes to improve their insulation? Well, there is a scheme which will help a few people, and you should check out whether you are eligible on this government website:

https://www.gov.uk/energy-company-obligation

Sadly, for most home occupiers you have to stump up the cost yourself, which might not be affordable. The government has been dragged kicking and screaming into following Lib Dem policy of levying a windfall tax on the profits of oil and energy companies. Insulating many homes would be such a good use for some of this tax revenue. But again it is a question of "if only".

Finally, has this tax been applied competently and effectively? Shell's total profit so far this year: £26 billion. Windfall tax paid: zero.

What did you expect?

Robert Court
Lib Dem candidate to contest Derbyshire Dales at the next General Election