ED Miliband was mocked last night for pleading with firms to help him flog taxpayer-funded green subsidies to the wealthy.
The Net Zero Secretary’s Energy Department last month emailed companies asking for ideas to advertise heat pumps to families “likely to have the financial means and climate change motivation”.
Net Zero Sec Ed Miliband was mocked last night for pleading with firms to help him flog taxpayer-funded green subsidies to the wealthy[/caption]
‘Labour are giving taxpayers’ money to people who don’t need it to buy heat pumps because they have to meet unrealistic Net Zero targets’, blasted Claire Coutinho[/caption]
Officials working for Mr Miliband also sought feedback on promoting the taxpayer-funded £7,500 pump grants “through our warm and fuzzy animated characters”.
In an email, Senior External Affairs Manager at the Department for Net Zero, Adam Smith, said: “I am keen to hear your thoughts on how to amplify this (scheme) further and reach a wider audience.
“Our target audience is focused on homeowners across England and Wales who are eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme £7,500 government grant, and likely to have the financial means and climate change motivation to install a heat pump.”
As of September this year, only 61,816 households have taken up the offer of a government-subsidised pump.
Before grants, an air-source system costs around £13,500 and a ground-source about £28,000.
Responding to the plea for advertising advice, an energy industry source told The Sun: “As someone who wants to see taxpayers’ cash used to help those in need, especially as energy bills are on the rise again, to knowingly subsidise relatively well-off households fit a heat pump is not what I consider the best use of this cash.
“It is almost as if Mr Miliband wants to encourage voters to switch to Reform because that is the impact of his fixation heat pumps to achieve net zero.”
Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho said: “Labour are giving taxpayers’ money to people who don’t need it to buy heat pumps because they have to meet unrealistic Net Zero targets.
“Instead of taxing, banning and bribing people into electric heating, the Conservatives’ single priority would be to make electricity cheap.
“We would axe the Carbon Tax and Ed’s old wind subsidies, to cut electricity bills by 20 per cent – what you choose to do with it is up to you.”
