Gen Z’s Must-Have Gadgets

According to a study, the devices that Gen Z cannot live without are air fryers, coffee makers, and hair dryers.

A poll, of 2,000 adults, has demonstrated how much different generations value various appliances around the home – and what things they turn to first thing in the morning.

For coffee-mad Gen Z, less than half (41 percent) felt their machine was a luxury item, compared to 64 percent of both Boomers and Gen X.

The younger generation is also less likely to consider hair tongs (30 percent) and air fryers (33 percent) a luxury compared to boomers (55 percent for hair tongs and 47 percent for air fryers).

It’s also evident the country is a fan of hot drinks, as half of all adults named the kettle as the first appliance they use in the morning – well ahead of the fridge (11 percent).

But older generations are more likely than youngsters to go for a brew first thing in the morning, with seven in 10 Boomers turning to the kettle before anything else compared to only 21 percent of Gen Z.

The research was commissioned by the Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances (AMDEA), to encourage people to sign up for their devices, as part of Register My Appliance Week.

Additionally, there is a quiz designed to test your understanding of the appliances that are valued by various generations.

CEO Paul Hide said: ‘We are clearly a nation of appliance lovers, who appreciate the transformative effect they’ve had on our lives and who are excited by the future of smart tech, especially the younger generations.

‘However, people are missing out on an important safety benefit – an estimated 40 million large appliances are unregistered, which means they are untraceable if a safety repair is needed.’

The washing machine was universally recognised by all ages as the appliance they can’t manage without (62 percent).

This was followed by the fridge (59 percent), oven (32 percent) and freezer (29 percent).

It also emerged that 80 percent of adults said energy efficiency was an important factor when it comes to buying a new appliance, with 65 percent checking its green credentials before parting with their cash.

Anyone born in this century, before all this new tech stuff, has no idea what it was like to live say in the 70s and before. They have no idea how easy their lives are now, yet they frequently whine anyway. Try living through the war, there were no gizmos back then, and most of them wouldn’t even know how to cook a meal from scratch.

In the 60s a washing machine consisted of a scrub board, typically at the side of your butler sink. In the 70s washing machines existed but generally for the more affluent clientele. I value specific things now but only because I’m more senior and disabled, but when I was more youthful and in my prime there was nothing wrong with a bit of spit and polish.

Jeez, if kids these days lose their wifi signal, they have a breakdown and tell everyone it’s caused them to have PTSD.

These kids need National Service, that might knock some sense into the woke loonies.

If my toaster broke, I definitely wouldn’t have a meltdown about it, I would do it the old-fashioned way and use the grill. Gen Z would have a blue fit if the toaster was broken and they take so many things for granted these days. Toasters are amazing but they are much more inferior to just putting your bread under the grill.

There have been numerous advancements over the last 60 years, things that we did not have back then and these are taken as a given these days, and we have become a dreadful society because of it, but you wouldn’t want to go back, would you? However, if there was a war, we might have to!

High Street Bank To Leave Britain Over Red Tape

High street banking giant Santander is looking ‘to quit Britain over excessive red tape’ – a decision which would hit millions of customers and tens of thousands of staff.

According to reports, the Spanish financial company is thinking about leaving the UK as it evaluates its upcoming commercial dealings.

According to the Financial Times, it is believed the possible exit from the British Isles is down to frustrations over UK rules introduced after the 2008 financial crisis, which has led to lower returns for the bank than in other markets. 

Large banks were forced to keep their retail banking separate from riskier assets and foreign operations following the crisis, which the banking behemoth claims has led to lower profits than in other markets, such as Spain.

The Financial Times reported that a former Santander executive said it had ‘always been a possibility’ that executive chair, Ana Botín, would sell up as a result. 

Insiders say executives want to shift their focus on growth regions like the US after share prices fell by a third in just over 10 years. 

The plans call for the bank to withdraw from retail and commercial banking in the UK while keeping some business interests and investment, and it has hired TV stars Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly as part of an advertising campaign.

There are some 14 million Santander customers who could be affected if the apparent plans go ahead, in addition to approximately 20,000 employees across 444 branches in the UK. It also holds about £200 billion in customer lending.

It comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves told the bosses of Britain’s regulators to help revive the UK economy by ‘tearing down the regulatory barriers that hold back growth’. 

Last year, Ms Reeves promised to tear up red tape for the City of London after claiming regulation after the 2008 financial crash had ‘gone too far’.

In her first Mansion House speech last November, she said: ‘While it was right that successive governments made regulatory changes after the global financial crisis, to ensure that regulation kept pace with the global economy of the time, it is important that we learn the lessons of the past.

‘These changes have resulted in a system which sought to eliminate risk-taking. That has gone too far and, in places, it has had unintended consequences which we must now address.’

Let’s be honest, Santander has an extremely low interest rate for businesses and customers. They also have very short opening hours, and you could probably shop elsewhere, but it is a real rigamarole because you have to switch everything over, direct debits, standing orders et cetera, and for those that have a mortgage with the said bank your mortgage will usually be sold to another lender, but again it’s a total pain in the posterior.

Who caused the issue or how it happened is irrelevant. Finding alternate banking arrangements is currently an issue for Santanders’ clients, which adds to people’s worries.

School Sells Soggy Pizza For £2.30… But Have YOUR Children Been Served Worse?

A mother has blasted her son’s school for charging him £2.30 for a soggy pizza slice at break time.

After he complained to her, she uploaded the dismal images of the tomato slice with a tiny bite removed and the cheese to a Reddit page.

She wrote: ‘My son’s school charging £2.30 for this…is this normal?’

Reddit users expressed outrage and contempt at the cost of such a meagre and pitiful-looking food.

This prompted more discussion about the audacious cost of school food in general as they pointed out the cost of living situation.

Thousands of people viewed the article right away, and hundreds of angry comments regarding the condition of school food were left.

‘It might be normal but it isn’t fair,’ one poster responded, to which one replied: ‘My child’s school charges 45p for a slice of toast per day. And quite often there’s no guarantee they will even get one either.

‘And rich politicians wonder why there are so many kids living in poverty.’

Giving your child a packed lunch is probably far healthier than a slice of pizza, at least a packed lunch might include an apple or a banana in with their lunch, perhaps even a muffin, but also giving a child a decent breakfast such as porridge, weetabix or shredded wheat and a couple of slices of wholesome toast would keep them full until lunchtime.

Back in my day, a school meal consisted of a proper meal, a dessert and a drink to sustain them, now all you get is a slice of pizza or burger and the cost of it is unreasonable.

Some mothers have to go to work to support their family, nothing has changed from when I was a child, numerous mothers had to go to work, but mothers also knew that their children were getting a wholesome meal so that when they got home all they had to do was give them tea, which would have usually consisted of sandwiches, crisps and some fruit, maybe a yoghurt.

But regardless of whether we should be making our children a packed lunch or not, £2.30 for a slice of pizza is absurd, not to mention unhealthy. If schools are going to provide meals for our children at school, at least make it better than a slice of pizza – try providing food with nutritious value.

Not providing a proper meal at lunchtime will just make our children slothful and exhausted – not lazy as the school would tell you! We need good food to feed our brains, but our government don’t want smart children because then they will go against the regime!

At one time schools had a proper kitchen and decent cooks, but now we are told it’s all in aid of progress, and in some schools they have banned packed lunches which is ridiculous. I mean, why would they do that? Oh, of course, to make more money – it’s always about the money!

Back in the 70s school meals were cooked by staff and they were lovely, particularly the desserts, and the women that served the food to us were great and made meal times feel like home.

Kate Tours A £10,000-A-Term School In North London

The Princess of Wales has toured two elite north London day schools – sparking rumours Prince George could be educated at one of them.

Kate, in remission from cancer, was seen at £10,000-a-term University College School (UCS) in Hampstead just after it closed for the Christmas holiday.

The same week, Highgate School – only two miles away – was also closed for a ‘special VIP visitor’ – said to have been the princess.

Her alma mater, Marlborough College in Wiltshire is understood to be the favoured option for her elder son when he departs Lambrook School in Berkshire in 18 months.

However, Kate and Prince William might be eager to consider other choices.

Prince George, 11, attends co-educational Lambrook with siblings Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six.

Kate is believed to be inclined to keep them together. And Marlborough, a £59,000-a-year co-educational boarding school, could take all three.

According to reports, Prince George has already been promised a place and a house has been set up for him. According to reports, it is the greatest choice for his security needs.

A source said while a day school in north London would be an ‘unexpected choice’, events of the past year might also have changed the Waleses’ priorities.

‘With the year Catherine has had, she may well have thought to herself that she wants to soak up every drop of George’s childhood and tuck him into bed herself each night,’ the source said.

However, it might not be a surprise, either, if the school visits were related to Kate’s work with the Royal Foundation. One of Kate’s first official engagements after her chemotherapy ended was an Early Years meeting at Windsor Castle in September.

It is a subject close to her heart, and she has said she takes ‘great joy’ from her work.

Why would you have children and then send them away to school? You cannot raise a child if he/she lives away from you, and time is too short anyway.

Having a child and then sending it to school has always baffled me. When your child lives far away, how can you raise him? Our time together is already brief enough.

Of course, you can Facetime them every night. See them on weekends and holidays. Let’s face it: It’s not like they’re shipping them off to Colditz.

Sending royal children to a day school, in my opinion, conveys a very positive message. While some students do enjoy boarding, it’s not for everyone, and parents are no exception. Why shouldn’t their kids attend a day school and grow up at home?

But then Kate and William might want to be seen as hands-on parents without truly being hands-on.

In my opinion, these schools are extremely expensive, and when parents have spent thousands of pounds on their education and the child is aware that they must do well in school to gain admission to a prestigious university, it is a terrible burden for them to bear.

Whether you support royalism or not, these small steps are a positive step towards modernising the monarchy, and these parents will do what is best for their kids, and with good reason.

Individuals who send their children away to school are simply byzantine. Like arranged marriages, top hots, the workhouse and monarchies – oh, did I really say that out loud? Good for me!

Eton and schools alike don’t offer what modern-day students and a prospective king will need in today’s world. So many things have changed and the old boy network is becoming outdated.

Midwives Learn About Decolonisation And Birthing People

Midwives are being taught about ‘decolonisation’ and ‘birthing people’ as part of their training to deliver newborns.

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) wants universities to ‘challenge the implicit and explicit legacies of colonial perspectives’ while training students how to practically deal with medical emergencies during pregnancy and delivery.

The professional body says trainee midwives should also learn about ‘white privilege’ and the ‘effects of colonisation and decolonisation’ as part of their three-year course.

Qualified midwifery staff should also use a Decolonising Midwifery tool kit to ‘reconstruct education from a global perspective, removing the colonial lens through which most education is perceived’, it suggests.

This, it says, is vital to ‘improve maternity care outcomes for women, birthing people and their families’.

Critics blamed the trade union for diverting attention from the real problems enveloping inadequate NHS maternity care, at a time when two-thirds of facilities are considered to be failing in safety.

Dr Caroline Johnson, shadow minister for health and an NHS consultant paediatrician who has attended thousands of births, said focusing on ideology over medical practicalities was ‘madness’.

‘The top priority for midwife training should be ensuring the safety of mothers and babies during delivery,’ she said.

‘So this ideological nonsense is nothing but a distraction and should have no place in the midwives’ education. If the Government is serious about putting patients first, they should intervene and stop this madness from taking hold.’

The tool kit is also ‘an important first step in ensuring that future midwives can practise with cultural competence’, says the RCM.

It has also issued a Decolonising Practice in Midwifery position statement, encouraging members – many of whom work for the NHS – to take ‘proactive measures… to address implicit and explicit colonial perspectives which persist within maternity services’.

NHS maternity care is under increased scrutiny following several high-profile investigations.

They include more than 200 baby deaths at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.

In a recent review of services, the Care Quality Commission (CQC)found maternity failings are becoming ‘normalised’. The CQC highlighted poor management, unsafe assessments at triage and failures to learn from mistakes.

Staffing and retention problems have left the NHS short of approximately 2,500 full-time midwives, contributing to safety failings.

Gill Walton, chief executive of the RCM, said the recommendations aim to address widespread inequality among maternity services.

‘To reduce these avoidable deaths and reduce inequality, we have to look at how midwifery is both taught and practised,’ she said.

I’m really angry about all this nonsense. Finding the person or people engaged in this decision is what we need to do. They should be named, shamed, and fired since they are unfit to be in this type of role.

People in the UK are working 60 plus hours a week to pay tax for boaties to stay in posh hotels free from hardship. We are also giving aid to China, India and South African farmers while our own countrymen and women are getting shafted. Privileged – are you having a laugh?

The tool kit is also ‘an important first step in ensuring that future midwives can practice with cultural competence.’ Let’s just focus on medical competence, shall we?

This training course is not necessary, and the funds might be used for more crucial NHS projects at a time when the UK needs to be frugal with taxpayer money and only spend it on necessary services.

This is not training, it’s political indoctrination in a false and dangerous ideology. Nazism is back, but now in a more subtle way!

Trump And Melania Return Triumphantly To DC

At one of the numerous celebrations taking place in Washington, D.C., area in advance of the inauguration, Donald Trump and his wife Melania were beaming as they watched a fireworks display.

Trump marked his return to power with a celebration at his Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, approximately 30 miles outside Washington.

Many of the key figures in the Trump orbit were present in addition to the First Couple, including Ivanka, the daughter and former top advisor, who was accompanied by her husband, Jared Kushner.

All of Trump’s adult children and their partners were in attendance. Don Jr. was joined by his controversial new beau Bettina Anderson, while Tiffany was there with her husband Michael Boulos, as well as Eric and his wife Lara. 

All eyes were on Donald and Melania, though, as they watched the performance and exchanged infrequent smiles.

In a brief speech, the president-elect highlighted several prominent figures, such as Jeff Bezos, the creator of Amazon, and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin.

Trump singled out his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who he called ‘a great negotiator’ after the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal was agreed to. 

Numerous favourites from Trump’s playlist washed over those in attendance, including ‘YMCA’ – which The Village People will play for those gathered live this weekend – and ‘A Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World.’ 

Just after 10 pm, the party left and about three dozen Trump fans cheered ‘Trump, Trump, Trump’ from a nearby grocery store parking lot as the motorcade passed.

At The Vice President’s Dinner in Washington, Vice President-elect JD Vance and his wife Usha were also seen arriving in lavish attire.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Cheryl Hines, and Marco Rubio were among those present at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

Before the new vice president’s speech, JD and Usha were seen kissing.

Rappers, tech billionaires, country music stars, and others are expected to make President-elect Trump’s second inauguration more spectacular than ever this weekend.

The newly sworn-in president and first lady Melania will attend three official balls – while there will be a flurry of other parties and events throughout inauguration weekend. 

More musical stars, such as Carrie Underwood, Gavin DeGraw, Rascal Flatts, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Jason Aldean, are willing to perform at Trump’s inaugural activities, which is a significant difference from eight years ago.

On Friday night, Snoop Dogg was the main act at the first Crypto Ball, while Rick Ross, a rapper, also performed.

Many people voted for Kamala Harris, but Trump got in – let’s see what’s in store for the next four years. Numerous people are happy and ready to support the new president. Hopefully, he will do a fantastic job.

But before this, he was being treated like a pariah and dragged through numerous judicial hearings.

However, he kept talking about how the combo of a corrupted judicial system and mass media were attempting to stop him from reattaining office – an office in which a confused old man was installed as a puppet for a shadow government.

Even among those who dislike Trump as a person, there is some hope. He should be able to pull America out of the abyss it’s in, which was mainly caused by the inept people in charge of the system.

Trump is not the system, which is why he was and remains a threat to the establishment.

If not for his policy reviews, you have to respect the man for his perseverance and fortitude. His wife will fulfil her duties as First Lady with decorum, but she doesn’t need or want the limelight.

Overtaxed Millionaires Flee UK

Since Keir Starmer took office, a record number of millionaires have left because of Labour’s tax intentions.

As fears of new tax policies hurting the economy and foreign investors have grown, thousands of millionaires have left Britain.

An increasing number of British business owners are reportedly ready to depart the nation following the autumn budget, which puts pressure on the Treasury to rethink its crackdown on non-domiciled residents.

It is estimated that Britain lost a net 10,800 millionaires to migration last year, which is a 157 percent increase from 2023, the Times reported.

According to data from New World Health, Britain has lost more affluent citizens than any other nation in the world, with the exception of China, and the number has increased since the general election.

The UK’s most affluent residents mostly fled to other European nations like Italy and Switzerland, as well as to the United Arab Emirates.

This comes after  it was revealed that one of Britain’s oldest surviving family businesses claimed it could face ruin after Labour’s budget ‘torpedoed’ its operating model.

Jim Rankin, a sixth-generation owner of Rankin Brothers & Sons, a cork manufacturer established in 1774, was blindsided by Rachel Reeves proposals, which he slams for ‘running completely contrary to the government’s ambitions for growth’.

Rankin, who is also the chairman of the Cork Industry Federation, detailed to MailOnline how the latest changes to employer National Insurance (NI) contributions and adjustments to inheritance tax will now affect their cash flow, the affordability of human resources, and succession planning.

He’s blunt in his criticism: ‘The policies the government is putting forward run completely contrary to their own aims. How can they claim to be fostering growth when they’re slapping taxes on businesses that are already struggling?’

Business Property Relief (BPR) has up to this point permitted individuals to transfer trading businesses to the next generation free of tax, allowing family-owned businesses to carry on from generation to generation, but from 2026 all companies valued over £1 million will be saddled with a 20 percent inheritance tax when passed on to the next generation.

‘This change could seriously damage the future of family businesses like ours,’ Rankin explains.

‘We’ve been around for over 250 years, and part of that longevity is thanks to our careful succession planning. But these new policies mean that we’re going to have to reimagine everything. It’s going to force us to make decisions we never thought we’d have to make.’

The wealthy are naturally fleeing because Labour has made it clear that they want to soak the rich, but those who are unable to do so must pay the large portion of taxes that the wealthy are no longer able to pay.

But then why should anyone hang around in the UK when this corrupt government is determined to take everything we have?

It has been demonstrated that Rachel Reeves is a chronic liar and has dubious integrity. Millionaires leave the UK because of her, and when they do, they cease to pay taxes. Reeves thinks this is a recipe for growth, but nobody else did, even though they were the ones paying the highest taxes!

Every day now, it’s just more about how Reeves can rob all your money, including the pension you saved into and for what?

It seems that our government need a good flogging every so often, that way they might wake up and smell the coffee!

History is simply repeating itself because Labour never learn. They do the same thing over and over again, but expect different results, which is sheer foolishness.

Wes Streeting Can’t Figure Out How To Fund Labour’s NHS Hospital Replacement Plan

Plans to replace deteriorating NHS hospitals that could put people at risk from collapsing structures are being shelved by Labour.

Ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged 40 new hospitals by the end of the decade, but now the plan looks to be in ruins.

Labour is set to announce that many of the crumbling NHS hospitals in England that were due to be replaced by 2030 will not be completed according to the original timeframe.

According to The Guardian, many trusts will undoubtedly be concerned that patients will continue to get care in hazardous settings and in facilities that are not suitable for their intended use after the announcement, which is scheduled for next week.

Local Members of Parliament are likely to criticise the decision upon the publication of a government review of the program.

Health secretary Wes Streeting is set to blame the Conservatives for leaving Labour a massive undertaking that was budgeted only until this March with costs of about £30 billion. 

In September, Streeting said that 12 of the 40 projects, could go ahead, including seven facing the threat of imminent collapse because they contain Raac concrete.

But he also ordered a review into the cost, viability and timescale of proceeding with 25 others which involve ageing and dilapidated hospitals, parts of which are falling apart and increasingly disrupting care for patients.

The delays follow scrutiny by the Treasury, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England, which has included scrutiny of the funds involved. 

Now, the expense will be dispersed over a longer time frame.

It is anticipated that Streeting will state that redevelopments will eventually take place and provide updated program prices.

However, a large number of these projects are already well advanced and are located in hospitals that are in dire need of renovation.

Streeting cautioned that the project would probably be delayed for several years in a letter he issued to all of England’s Members of Parliament in September.

Streeting said: ‘Because we inherited a programme that was unfunded beyond March 2025 and a wider fiscal inheritance that was hugely challenging, we may have to consider rephasing schemes so that they can be taken forward as fiscal conditions allow.

‘A structured and agreed rolling investment approach will mean proceeding with these schemes will be subject to investment decisions at future spending reviews.’

The risks from crumbling hospitals is now so great that some are ‘outright dangerous’, Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, has said.

However, how is this possible? Where has all of the money gone since the NHS’s funding was announced? Did Starmer spend it on his jollies?

Our government have no clue how to handle the economy – they couldn’t even run a bath and it’s all a game to them.

Rachel Reeves increased National Insurance – so where is it going? Because there has been no improvement in services and no cuts in waiting lists. It’s all smoke and mirrors – lies and deception.

For years, they have claimed to be able to improve the NHS. Those of us who had previously endured a Labour government were aware that it was all falsehoods, but they are typically not discovered this rapidly.

We can find funds for people crossing the channel and for war that has nothing to do with us. Our people must come first. Our healthcare system and our military members are the two things that our government does not safeguard.

NHS Nurses Share Their Harrowing Experiences Of Third World Conditions

In horrifying testimony to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) study, one nurse in the South East of England said a patient had lain dead in a corridor ‘for hours’.

Another nurse, in Yorkshire and the Humber, said departments were becoming ‘overwhelmed’ on a daily basis, adding: ‘At its worst, (we are) asking someone to go round and make sure people are still alive.’

Patients dying in chairs and trolleys in corridors was now a familiar occurrence, according to one nurse in the South East.

The nurse added: ‘All the fundamentals of care have broken down – we are no better than a developing world casualty.’

A nurse in London said: ‘It’s awful – it feels like we’re living in a Third World country or worse. I dread going into work and wish I’d picked an alternative career.’

Another nurse in the South said: ‘I really felt bad for the patients – most of whom were elderly and unable to express their feelings about being cared for in very inhumane and Third World conditions.’

A nurse in Scotland said: ‘I worked throughout Covid-19 and… this lack of care in the broken system is worse. People are dying as a result of ambulances being held at hospitals and calls are eventually being responded to almost two days after 999 has been called. This has to end, now!’

A cancer patient whose immunity was extremely low because of her treatment was left in a busy area close to a staff room and toilet in a hospital in the South West.

A nurse said: ‘She should have been in a side room. She was very upset and crying. We put screens around her but it was constantly busy. That poor lady eventually passed away.’

A nurse in London said: ‘The department is over-capacity on a daily basis, leaving patients being cared for in corridors, on chairs when they should be in beds, on ambulance trolleys, in relatives’ rooms, in viewing rooms, anywhere there is a space.’

A nurse in the East of England said: ‘Patients miscarrying and returning for treatment are being bedded in the busy waiting room which is used for emergency attenders and an outpatient department.’

A nurse in Scotland said the hospital had started placing beds ‘in the middle of bays in the wards in addition to corridor beds for more space’. 

They added: ‘It is degrading, undignified, and at times unsafe for patients who are already angry due to the long waits, sometimes waiting in the emergency department for over 35 hours… just to be put in the corridor. The system is broken.’

For patients who are fortunate enough to find a cubicle, corridor care also presents challenges.

One nurse told of the chaos of patients having cardiac arrests in the corridor, adding: ‘Having to roll a trolley through a corridor and the whole department to re-sus straddling a patient doing CPR while everyone watches on. It just feels so undignified.’

In the South East, patients experienced cardiac arrests in the hallway or had their cubicles obstructed by people on trolleys in front of them, which caused life-saving CPR to be delayed.

A nurse at a hospital in the area said: ‘Despite these events, we still are obliged to deliver care in the corridor.’

What more can we anticipate when there is no infrastructure being constructed and a positive net migration of almost one million people each year? We will eventually level off until we all live like the third-world nations from which migrants have migrated.

Britain’s population has grown due to migration during the past 20 years and more, with many newcomers having severe health problems.

Due to a dearth of candidates, the NHS has been forced to close hospital beds and has unfilled professional medical positions. This is supported by a government cap on the number of physicians who can receive training each year and the number of physicians who can transition from general practice to speciality.

Too much demand, too little supply, and an inept government to do anything sensible about the situation. The NHS is failing and subsequent UK governments are watching it happen.

No doubt Starmer will be creaming his pants as he condemns the Tories, and in some instances he is right, but not all!

And when our money is desperately needed here, why do we continue to send it overseas? We cannot afford it, thus our government should immediately halt all aid to other countries.

Labour will not stop migrants from coming to the UK because they know that by giving them a vote, they will swing the next General Election and we Brits don’t matter to them anymore.

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!

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