A TOP Government official says he is "shocked" by the town’s fuel poverty crisis, but has promised to deliver "good jobs and lower bills" to the area.
Shadow Energy Secretary Ed Miliband headed to Harlow Collage, in Velizy Avenue, last Thursday, alongside Harlow councillor for the Little Parndon and Town Centre ward, Chris Vince.
During the visit, the pair discussed the Labour Party’s Green Prosperity Plan, which MPs and councillors hope will help lower house bills by insulating 19 million homes across the country and freezing energy bills via a windfall tax on oil and gas companies.
If the party is elected in the next General Election, it claims it would create one million ‘green jobs’ for plumbers, electricians, engineers, and technicians.
According to a Labour spokesman, an analysis by the party has found “fewer than five homes in Harlow have been upgraded under the government’s latest insultation scheme".
From data published by the House of Commons Library on April 26, 2024, in 2022 3,678 households in the Harlow constituency lived in fuel poverty.
A household is defined as fuel poor if they live in a property with a energy efficiency rating of band D to G and their income, after housing costs and energy needs, is below the poverty live.
Mr Miliband said: “It’s shocking that whilst thousands of families across Harlow are in fuel poverty, the government’s flagship insulation scheme has upgraded fewer than five households.
“Home upgrades are the single biggest no-brainer if we want to cut energy bills and create jobs, but the government’s record is woeful.
“Labour’s Warm Homes Plan, alongside our overhaul of the skills system, will bring investment, good jobs and lower bills to towns across the south East.
“After 14 years of failure from this government, only Labour can deliver the change and investment people deserve here in Harlow."
The party believes its Warm Homes Plan will help families who want the chance to upgrade their homes with energy efficiency measures and low carbon heating.
The Labour Party claims it will help to create long-term, skilled, highly paid work for construction workers, electricians, and plumbers, as well as reduce household energy bills by hundreds of pounds per year.
Chris Vince (Lab) is standing in the upcoming Harlow Council elections for Little Parndon and Town Centre, as well as Tony Durcan (Lab), Maggie Hulcoop (Lab), Klara Bow (Green), Caroline Schellin-Jolley (Green), Danielle Kemm (Green), Dan Brown (Con), Geoffrey Longster (Con), and Anne Richards (Con).
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