On 10th June, the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party, Sir Ed Davey launched The Liberal Democrat Party Manifesto 2024. The Manifesto was revealed following an announcement by the Party Leader at a launch event in North London and outlines the Party’s pitch for election.

Energy Efficiency and Net Zero

Net Zero remains a crucial topic for all Parties ahead of the upcoming election. In June 2023, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) warned of “worryingly slow” progress, stating that the current policies within the UK won’t deliver net zero in time for 2050.

In September 2023, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a “more pragmatic, proportionate, and realistic approach” to net zero. This included a significant U-turn on the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES), which required all rented properties to have an Energy Performance Certificate rating of C or above by 2028.

Liberal Democrats Manifesto: “We will take the bold, urgent action needed to tackle climate change…”

In contrast to the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak’s, speech which solidified the Conservative’s commitment to a ‘pragmatic and proportionate’ approach to Net Zero, the Liberal Democrat Party is prepared to take the “bold, urgent action needed to tackle climate change”.

The Liberal Democrat Manifesto pledges to cut “greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2045 at the latest”, exceeding the official deadline of 2050 by 5 years.

To achieve this, the Party plans to take the following actions if elected in July:

• Reintroduce MEES: Reintroduce the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES), which will require landlords to upgrade the energy efficiency of their properties to EPC Band C or above by 2028.
• Ten-Year Emergency Upgrade Programme: Create an upgrade programme to “make homes warmer and cheaper to heat”. The programme will include benefits such as free insulation and heat pumps for low income households.
• Heat Pump Incentives: Improve incentives for installing heat pumps that “cover the real costs”. The value and eligibility for these incentives is not specified.
• Renewable Energy: 90% of the UK’s electricity to be generated by renewables by 2030 by investing in renewable power.
• Zero Carbon Standard: Immediately require all new homes and non-domestic buildings to be built to a Zero-Carbon standard. This will include the installation of solar panels and the standards will be improved as technology advances.

Housing and Buildings

Housebuilding targets, and the ability of the government to meet them, has come under scrutiny in recent years.

Liberal Democrat Manifesto: “We will ensure that everyone can access housing that meets their needs.”

The Liberal Democrats are “committed to tackling housing failures head-on” with a range of plans outlined in their Manifesto, including:

• New Homes: Increase the building of new homes to 380,000 a year. This will include 150,000 social homes per year and equates to 1.9 million new homes over 5 years.
• Brownfield Sites: Encourage development of existing brownfield sites. This will include providing financial incentives to develop on this land.
• Planning Permissions: Take a “Use-it-or-lose-it” approach for planning permission for developers who refuse to build.
• Skills and Training: Invest in skills, training and new technologies to create a more sustainable approach to housebuilding.
• Warmer Homes: Make homes warmer and cheaper to heat. This includes the Ten-Year Emergency programme, the requirement for all new build homes to be built to net-zero carbon standards and the reintroduction of MEES.
• Neighbourhood Planning: Expand Neighbourhood Planning across England to allow local communities to effectively allocate land for housing, offices, shops or any new buildings they deem necessary.

What Happens Next? (General Election Timeline)

• 17th June: Deadline for registering to vote. This deadline has now passed.
• 18th June: Deadline for postal vote applicants. This deadline has now passed.
• 26th June: Deadline for new applications to vote by proxy.
• 4th July: Election day/Polling day.

Elmhurst will continue to update members throughout the above timeline on any new and relevant information relating to the energy assessment and retrofit sector.

What About the Other Party Manifestos?

With the General Election campaigns picking up speed, last week saw all three main political parties – Conservatives, Labour, and the Liberal Democrats – launch their Manifestos.

Conservative Party Manifesto: https://public.conservatives.com/static/documents/GE2024/Conservative-Manifesto-GE2024.pdf

Labour Party Manifesto: https://labour.org.uk/change/