A chill wind from the Chancellor

Simon Bullock

07 December 2012

Another bitterly cold night in Yorkshire last night. And this morning, a gas bill on the mat, with a reminder that prices are going up again.

In Britain, a killer combination of expensive gas and poorly insulated housing makes cold homes a misery for millions. Last winter, there were 24,000 extra winter deaths in England and Wales alone; the World Health Organisation estimates that 30 per cent of these deaths are attributable to cold homes.

This is completely preventable - with a major programme of insulating homes. It would boost the economy, create jobs, cut gas imports, slash bills and save lives.

But George Osborne won't do it. He's even cut the main Government-funded fuel poverty scheme - Warm Front will stop completely from March next year.

The usual excuse is there's no money - but after the Autumn Statement this week, this just won't wash. Two days ago, he magicked up £9 billion over 6 years to drop his budgeted 3p fuel duty rise. That money could have super-insulated 1.3 million homes.

Macro-economic modelling from Cambridge Econometrics last month shows that investing in energy efficiency is better for the economy and jobs, in both the short and long-term, than either cutting fuel duty or capital spending, such as on road building. Yet, on Wednesday, the Chancellor did both of the latter, but did nothing for the millions of people suffering from fuel poverty.

The money is there for energy efficiency, but the political will is not. Mr Osborne won't end the disgrace of fuel poverty - because he actively chooses not to. He sees no votes in it.

There's a growing coalition to make him change his mind. The Energy Bill Revolution campaign calls on the Government to use money from carbon taxes to invest in making homes super-energy efficient. It has 175 MPs supporting it, and 120 organisations are signed up - from ASDA, Shelter and Friends of the Earth to Unison, Age UK and the British Heart Foundation. Please get involved, via http://www.energybillrevolution.org/

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