Sammy Wilson: Delay to ban on gas boilers is welcome

The government’s apparent decision to delay a ban on the sale of gas boilers, which would have force households to install heat pumps at an extortionate cost, is to be welcomed.

It seems that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has talked some sense into the prime minister, whose virtue signalling towards the green lobby ahead of the COP26 conference in Glasgow has gone unchallenged for long enough.

These policies, which may cause little problem for the rich, would have left less well-off people unable to afford the estimated up to £30k cost of home retrofitting and the £200-300 per year increase in their electric bills.

As the cost of the government’s obsession with climate change becomes more apparent, it is good to see that there is a debate about the impact this will have on ordinary people – whether it be farmers, business owners, electricity consumers or those wishing to go abroad on their holidays.

Sammy Wilson DUP MP for East Antrim

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