Despite Labour Sneaking Through ‘Boiler Tax’, Miliband Admits Heat Pumps May Never Be Cheaper Than Gas Boilers

Heat pumps may never be cheaper than gas boilers, Ed Miliband has said, despite Labour creeping a ‘boiler tax’ through Parliament.

Despite worries about potential consumer costs, the Energy Secretary reaffirmed that the government has no plans to impose a future ban on gas boilers.

Boiler manufacturers will be penalised under the plan, which will go into effect in April if they don’t sell enough heat pumps.

Companies in the sector have previously warned it would add £120 to the cost of a new boiler – leading it to be dubbed the ‘boiler tax’.

Speaking at the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee on Wednesday, Mr Miliband said he was ‘wary’ of stopping people from having gas boilers by a specific date if the government cannot guarantee greener alternatives will be cheaper.

With a substantial amount of the UK’s carbon footprint coming from gas heating of homes, the previous Conservative government had outlined plans to ban the sale of new gas boilers by 2035.

This meant that by that date, homes wishing to replace their boilers would have to choose a more environmentally friendly heating solution, like a heat pump.

Ex-prime minister Rishi Sunak was criticised by scientists, campaigners and MPs in 2023 when he backtracked on several net zero policies, including weakening the mooted boiler ban to an 80 percent phase-out by 2035.

Last week, it was reported that the new government had ditched plans for a 2035 ban on gas boilers in its new housebuilding standards.

When questioned by Members of Parliament over this decision, Mr Miliband informed the committee that Labour had no intention of enacting such a ban.

He said: ‘I’m very cautious on these questions because we can say to people: ‘You need to get a heat pump, not a gas boiler, potentially at some point in the future’.

‘But I’m very wary that we’re going to stop people having gas boilers at a point when we can’t guarantee that heat pumps are going to be cheaper for people.’

The Energy Secretary argued that in opposition, Labour never said it would reverse Mr Sunak’s row-back on his Government’s boiler ban plans.

‘We did that deliberately because my bottom line is that we proceed in a way that means we can say to people: ‘You’re going to be better off in making this transition’,’ Mr Miliband said.

‘I do not want to be in a position where I say to people: ‘You must go down this road’ and then people say to me rightly: ‘Look, you’re going to make me worse off’.

‘So that’s our position on that.’

The cost of a heat pump can vary from £6,500 to £18,000, depending on the kind of heat pump, the size of the property, and the labour needed. The cost of a combi boiler in the UK can range from £1,500 to £4,500, including installation, but the price depends on several factors – what kind of boiler, the size of the property and the number of bedrooms, and the brand that you prefer, but still way more affordable than a heat pump.

And out of interest, I wonder how many of our overpaid, underworked pretentious, not-so-smart MPs have heat pumps, and if they have, how long have they had them for?

Most of us know anything that has a tax incentive is probably going to be extremely subpar and don’t forget, tax incentives cost the taxpayer money because there is no such thing as government money!