Reform pledge to scrap heat-pump grants: comment

"The facts speak for themselves on this one. The North Sea is undeniably running out of gas and fracking is hugely unpopular, so unless you want homes to be ever more reliant on foreign gas for heating, you have to switch to electric heat pumps powered by British renewables. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and now with conflict in the Middle East, time and time again we’ve seen what the UK’s over-reliance on gas for power and heating has done for households and businesses up and down the country.

"At a time when President Trump is seeking to sell more and more US gas to the UK, this agenda and US gas companies would be likely to benefit. Adding to the more than 125,000 heat pumps installed in the UK last year can have significantly more impact on how much foreign gas we have to import than more drilling in the North Sea.

"The other group that would benefit is the gas boiler industry who were accused by a former Conservative minister of running 'campaigns of misinformation' against heat pumps [2] and this lobbying has no doubt left the UK more dependent on gas at a time when prices have shot up again."

Notes to editors:

1. Daily Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/03/10/nigel-farage-pledges-to-scrap-heat-pump-grants-reform-uk/

2. Sky News: https://news.sky.com/story/campaigns-of-misinformation-around-heat-pumps-says-energy-minister-amid-record-number-of-installations-13052428 

For more information or for interview requests:

George Smeeton, Head of Communications, ECIU, t: 020 8156 5305, m: 07894 571 153, email: george.smeeton@eciu.net