Labour's obsession with heat pumps is holding Britain back

But scratch the glossy surface and you’ll find the same old blind spot: an obsession with heat pumps that borders on delusion.

Nobody sensible is saying heat pumps don’t matter, and it's certain they’ll play a role in Britain’s low‑carbon future. But the idea that they are the default answer for every home shows a worrying disconnect between policymakers and the reality of Britain’s housing stock – and the public’s appetite for heat pumps. We have leaky Victorian terraces, tower blocks built before modern insulation, mid‑century estates, rural stone cottages, in short: millions of homes where heat pumps are either wildly expensive, technically awkward, or simply unsuitable without major, disruptive retrofits.

And then there’s the workforce problem. The Government talks breezily about a “clean‑heat jobs boom”, but we still don’t have anywhere near enough qualified installers to deliver the heat‑pump rollout that ministers keep promising. Without the engineers, the plan is meaningless. You can’t retrofit your way to net zero with good intentions and press releases alone.

What makes this even more baffling is the missed opportunity hiding in plain sight. The same plan that pushes solar panels and home batteries somehow ignores the heating technologies that best complement them. Modern electric heating is straightforward to install, unobtrusive, responsive, and perfectly matched to the self‑generated clean electricity the Government wants households to produce. It’s the obvious partner for the rooftop revolution… yet it barely features in the conversation.

Instead, ministers are funnelling homeowners toward a one‑size‑fits‑all solution that simply doesn’t fit all. And the people who’ll pay for it – literally, through loans - are the households pushed down a path that may not suit their property, their finances or their circumstances.

Britain needs an honest, flexible, evidence‑based approach that respects the diversity of our homes and the lived reality of families trying to keep warm without going broke.

The Warm Homes Plan could have been that moment. Instead, it rehashes yesterday’s assumptions and calls it progress. If we want real change, lower bills, warmer homes and genuine momentum towards net zero, it’s time to break free from heat‑pump tunnel vision and finally embrace a broader, smarter mix of solutions.

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Fiona Conor is CEO of Trust Electric Heating.

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