Labour has a chance to finally insulate Britain

London: The UK’s new Labour government has made clear that improving housing and tackling climate change are among its top priorities, with announcements on housebuilding targets and onshore wind turbines being made within its first few days in office.

But we’ve yet to hear any more substantial detail about a policy that would make a major contribution towards both these goals: Labour’s warm homes plan to improve housing insulation and cut domestic emissions to net zero.

Almost three years ago, I wrote about the scale of the challenge to insulate Britain’s homes and how it can be illustrated with five numbers. With little progress made under the previous government, the challenge is arguably now even greater.

Now in government, Labour has the chance to turn things around, and its warm homes plan points in the right direction, at least. However, another look at the numbers shows the new government needs to get serious about how to pay for it.