Energist UK's Summary on the manifesto's on the run up to the General Election 2017

1. What are your timeframes for Zero
Carbon Homes?
I’m putting the Lib Dems at the top for this
question with their commitment to
introducing a Zero Carbon Act – this includes
restoring the Zero Carbon Homes
commitment (originally due to come in force
in 2016) and meeting a Zero Carbon standard
for non-domestic buildings by 2022.
The Green Party sets out good policies, but
with less vegetarian meat on the proverbial
bones. They are committing to ‘affordable,
Zero Carbon Homes’ by 2022.
Next in line is Labour who intend to consult
on a new standard for building Zero Carbon
Homes, although no dates or details are
provided. Labour also plan to launch a
consultation on Space Standards – currently a
voluntary set of targets on the minimum size
of houses.
Given the Conservatives released the
longest manifesto of the lot, there’s only one
line covering this subject in terms of Energy
use in homes; Simply: ‘We will... review
requirements on new homes’.
But this is still more than UKIP, which makes
no reference to Zero Carbon Homes at all.
Lib Dems want
to introduce
the Zero
Carbon Act

2. How many new homes can you build?
Based on numbers alone, Conservatives and
Lib Dems are tied on this one:
Conservatives are promising to meet their
2015 commitment to deliver a million homes
by 2020, and will deliver another half a million
by 2022. The manifesto doesn’t mention how
figures are currently behind schedule, but it
does state ‘councils are amongst the worst
offenders in failing to build Sustainable
integrated communities’.
1.5 million is the figure from the Lib Dems as
well, aiming for 300,000 every year for five
years – this will include half a million
affordable homes, 10 new garden cities, tens
of thousands of high quality Zero Carbon
Homes and the start of a British Housing and
Infrastructure Development Bank.
I’m putting UKIP next – they’ve set out a
lower figure (up to a million new homes by
2022), by leaving the current traditional
building companies alone to do their thing.
But on top of this, they will establish a
Housing Development Corporation. This body
will buy up brownfield sites, give itself
planning and build 100,000 flat-pack homes
every year.
Labour is also aiming for a million before the
end of the next Parliament with 100,000
council and affordable homes every year. No
specific details on how though.
Finally the Green Party. They are committing
to half a million social rented homes by 2022.
No targets have been set out for the private
market.
UKIP ‘Plan to tackle
Housing shortfall
with dedicated Flat-
Pack home factories

3. What are your plans for upgrading
existing housing stock?
Most of the main parties are taking the same
line on this one. The Green Party has set out
the most impressive target, if scarce on detail.
They plan to introduce an ‘insulation
programme to make every home warm’.
Labour and Lib Dem are both committing to
retrofitting four million homes with insulation
over the next parliament – the Lib Dems are
also proposing that all EPC’s should be no
worse than a C rating by 2035.
The Conservatives are focusing efforts on
‘fuelpoor homes’ – around 2.3 million
dwellings. They want to upgrade all fuelpoor
homes to an EPC band of C by 2030. More
immediately, the Tories will ensure Smart
Meters are installed in every home and
business by the end of 2020.
UKIP are taking a different approach, and will
focus on making fuel bills cheaper for
households. They make no reference to
reducing energy use in old homes.
Conservatives
‘Smart meters will
be installed in every
House and business
by the end of 2020

4. How will you target the skills shortage
in the construction industry?
There’s no specific mention of the
construction skills shortage in Labour’s
manifesto, but they do talk of creating a free
education service ‘from cradle to grave’ –
applying the original NHS template to schools
and colleges. So in theory, anyone who
wanted to get trained in bricklaying, plumbing
or plastering could walk into a college and get
trained up. Looks like the focus of this new
service will be on apprenticeship schemes and
adult learning. No timeframes are set out for
completing this impressive task.
The Lib Dems want to develop national
colleges as centres of expertise for key sectors
to deliver ‘the high vocational skills that
business need’. They want to encourage more
people to be trained up in low carbon and
renewable technologies, and want to find the
right people to fill our skills shortages.
The Greens talk of providing education for all,
but don’t provide details on any adult learning
or re-training commitments.
UKIP is going with some out-of-the-box
thinking, and plan to leave the current
construction sector as it is. Rather than
finding more people to get trained in
conventional building skills, they plan to
establish modular home factories in parts of
the UK that need it most. They will train
people to work in these factories and to build
the modular homes in the local area.
A unique take from the Conservatives also...
They acknowledge there is a skills shortage in
the construction industry, and will look at how
the visa system can be ‘better aligned with
our modern industrial strategy’. Basically, they
will look at immigration to fill any skills
shortages in the UK; arranged locally (which is
interesting given their immigration targets).
There is also a line with says they ‘will give
Britain the technical education it has lacked
for decades’.
Labour ‘Want to make
Education free and for
everybody

5. Where should our future energy come
from?
These are listed in terms of green credentials,
so you’d expect the Green Party to be at the
top. They are short on detail, but commit to
an end to Coal, and putting focus on
Renewable Technology.
The Lib Dems provide more information.
They want to reduce Greenhouse gas
Emissions by 80% by 2040, and get the UK’s
Energy supply to Zero Carbon by 2050. They
will give the green light to Swansea’s Tidal
Lagoon project (the world’s first tidal power
station). They will also invest in parts of the
country which rely on fossil fuel industries so
people can retrain and diversify.
Labour are keen on privatising our Energy
providers. They will promote low Carbon Gas
supply and Renewable electricity production.
They want 60% of the UK’s energy supply to
be Zero Carbon by 2030.
On the flip side, the Conservatives don’t
want us to measure our future Energy use on
how Green it is, but how Cheap it is. They are
against Onshore Wind and are pro-shale. They
have pledged to leave the environment ‘in a
better state than we inherited it’.
UKIP have some very certain plans and
comments in this area. They will get rid of the
2008 Climate Change Act because it has ‘no
basis in science’ and is a ‘textbook exercise in
legislative folly’. They will also withdraw from
the Paris Climate Change Agreement. They
will make fuel bills cheaper by scrapping Feed-
in-Tariffs and Renewable Heat Incentive
payments, will invest in shale gas and see no
need in closing our ‘perfectly good coal fired
power stations’.
Greens ‘ As expected,
there’s a key focus on
Renewables, and a
quick phase out of
Fossil Fuel
Written by: Jon Ponting