A Labour MP has suggested the government should prioritize the installation of solar panels on “pensioner bungalows” as part of a broader strategy to counter the rising influence of Reform UK.
Jo White, representing Bassetlaw, emphasized the need for voters to perceive a “tangible benefit” from Labour’s climate initiatives. She advocated for extending grant programs for heat pumps and solar panels to “working people,” rather than limiting them to those receiving benefits.
White’s policy proposal emerged during a brainstorming session at Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool, where MPs discussed strategies to address the challenge posed by Nigel Farage’s party.
The early stages of the conference have been heavily focused on strategies to outperform Reform, which is currently leading Labour in opinion polls.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has asserted that his Net Zero policies would lead to a £300 reduction in energy bills for households by 2030, achieved through the replacement of costly fossil fuels with more affordable renewable energy sources.
However, these benefits have yet to materialize, as energy bills have continued to rise due to fluctuations in gas prices. White expressed concern that this situation made her constituents feel as though the government was “taking the Mickey out of my constituents”.
Speaking at the Transform to Beat Reform fringe, White cautioned that a growing “disconnect” was eroding trust in her constituency and urged Labour to take swift action on multiple fronts to prevent voters from turning to Nigel Farage’s party.
White, the founder of the Red Wall Caucus, which comprises approximately 35 MPs from the North and Midlands dedicated to highlighting issues in constituencies outside London, was asked what steps Labour should take this week to initiate positive change.
She advocated for expanding the eligibility criteria for grants to include pensioners and individuals with middle incomes.
“What I want to see is solar panels on pensioner bungalows and see those pensioners advocating for retrofitting,” she told the meeting.
“We need to be rolling out these heat pump and solar panels initiatives at speed and at the moment it only gets to people on benefits and it has to go to working people.
“We have to tackle this in a very, very different way so people have a tangible benefit.”
The Bassetlaw MP cautioned that the current failure to lower energy bills was pushing people towards climate change misinformation and disengagement from addressing the crisis.
“In my constituency climate scepticism is growing at a rapid rate because of the increasing costs,” she said.
“That promise of a £300 reduction in bills is actually taking the Mickey out of my constituents – I am ashamed that we keep repeating that answer.”
She attributed the problem to a shift away from traditional journalism towards social media influencers, leading to exposure to misinformation, conspiracy theories, and far-right politics.
White called on Labour and the broader progressive movement to establish a competing “ecosystem” of influencers, podcasters, and social media channels to tell more compelling stories.
“I think we on the left are miles behind what the far right are doing,” she said.
“People are sucked into matching YouTube rather than mainstream media. They think it’s not the truth.
“Once people have gone down that spiral it’s very difficult to bring them back into the real world and challenge what they’ve been told.”
However, White suggested this could be combated by showing left-wing policies did actually work and then getting people to tell their trusted friends and neighbours, including on social media sites geared more towards communities like Nextdoor.
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Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper says bank profits could fund solar panels, heat pumps and insulation.
Eligible residents can apply for funding to make their homes warmer and cheaper to heat.
The 175-year-old glass house will begin a £50m renovation in 2027.
The Planning Inspectorate turns down an appeal to run the heat pumps 24 hours a day, due to noise.
The refit at Northcroft Leisure Centre, is set to start in 2026 and finish by March 2027.