The Guardian
· collected 2026-10-11 · by Fiona Harvey Environment editor
At the Tory party conference, Kemi Badenoch proposed scrapping the future homes standard (FHS), which requires new homes to have solar panels, heat pumps, and high-grade insulation. This would save builders up to £30,000 per home initially but could lead to higher energy bills for residents over time. Environmental experts argue that this move contradicts voter priorities and undermines long-term climate action goals, with costs of retrofitting homes later estimated at more than £20,000 each.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-11,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
New homes could be built without solar panels, heat pumps and high-grade insulation, leading to higher household bills if the Conservative party wins the next general election.
Kemi Badenoch made scrapping the future homes standard (FHS) one of the central planks of her bid to become the next prime minister at the Tory party conference this week.
The announcement gained little attention compared to her inheritance tax bombshell, but it would have more far-reaching impacts on a greater number of people.
uncertain
it → build → people
The UK is in need of approximately 6m new homes and failing to equip them with efficient and low-carbon energy sources would doom households to higher bills for decades to come.
asserted
UK → fail → decades
The Tories quoted estimates of £30,000 for new-build houses, but the real cost is likely to be much less.
asserted
cost → quote → houses
Installing heat pumps, solar panels, batteries and insulation costs about £5,000 to £8,000 at the point of building – a figure estimated in 2024 when energy prices were much lower – to save more than £1,300 a year on bills, a saving likely to be substantially higher now.
asserted
prices → instal → saving
To retrofit homes after building would cost more than £20,000.
asserted
retrofit → retrofit → 20,000
Jan Rosenow, a professor of climate and energy policy at the University of Oxford, said: “Every home constructed today that runs on fossil fuels is a liability for the occupants.
asserted
that → say → occupants
It also results in investor uncertainty and disrupts the supply chain that has been gearing up for this.
asserted
that → result → this
What we need is less political point scoring and more long-term clarity.”
asserted
need → need → What
Housebuilders have been among the biggest donors to the Conservative party, though this has fallen off in recent years.
asserted
this → fall → years
And according to the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC), the construction industry is well prepared for the FHS and will have to implement the policy before the next general election, so scrapping it is of little benefit.
uncertain
scrapping → accord → benefit
Simon McWhirter, the chief executive of UKGBC, said: “The housebuilding industry has spent years preparing for the introduction of the FHS, investing in skills, supply chains and new products.
asserted
industry → say → skills
Reversing course would … risk slowing progress towards building the homes that people want and need.”
asserted
people → reverse → that
Despite the crisis of sewage and farm pollution in the UK’s rivers and beaches, and the dramatic drop in wildlife, the party would abolish the Environment Agency and Natural England.
asserted
party → abolish → Agency
The party’s U-turn on environmental issues and net zero was contrary to what voters wanted, said Robbie MacPherson, Kennedy scholar at Harvard University and the former head of the UK’s all-party parliamentary group on climate.
asserted
MacPherson → want → climate
“No winning political strategy, after years of fossil fuel-driven energy price spikes and a summer of climate breakdown, can include environmental regression.
asserted
strategy → win → regression
“Voters won’t reward politicians who want to kill employment opportunities, spurn economic growth and fail to keep Britain safe.”
asserted
who → reward → Britain
While the Conservatives spent their party conference burning their green credentials, an equally unexpected U-turn came from the Green party, which resolved last weekend to abandon its long-held opposition to nuclear power.
asserted
which → spend → power
Although the party would still prioritise renewable energy, Green MPs could now support new reactors, in recognition of their potential role in low-carbon generation.
uncertain
MPs → prioritise → generation
Paul Dorfman, Bennett scholar at the University of Sussex and the chair of the Nuclear Consulting Group thinktank, said: “The Green party has taken a wrong turn on nuclear and this will lose them significant grassroot support and votes.
“With 20-plus-year construction times, repeated delays and huge cost overruns, new nuclear diverts scarce resources from faster options.
asserted
nuclear → say → options
Renewables, storage, efficiency and stronger grids can deliver much more for every pound spent.”
asserted
Renewables → deliver → pound
The battle between the Green party and the Labour party in this week’s Holborn and St Pancras byelection is likely to be repeated during the general election, where the Greens could be the main challengers in urban Labour strongholds.
uncertain
Greens → repeat → strongholds
Responding to Sagal Abdi-Wali’s win for Labour, Greenpeace UK’s head of politics, Ami McCarthy, said: “Abdi-Wali has shown that voters are putting their trust in Labour, but the Green party increased its share of the vote and remains a serious challenger.
asserted
party → respond → vote
As extreme heat becomes a regular threat and droughts extend for much of the year, concern about climate change is on the rise and cannot be ignored.”
asserted
concern → become → rise
At Labour’s conference, Andy Burnham made only passing references to the climate, pollution crises and nature.
asserted
Burnham → make → climate
He announced a publicly owned body to invest in the energy grid, alongside the privatised National Grid, which has been criticised for slow progress on upgrades.
asserted
which → announce → upgrades
McCarthy said: “Voters will be comparing Labour with other parties that have a clear plan to lower energy bills and tackle the climate crisis rather than with the fantasies of the Conservatives and Reform.
asserted
that → say → Conservatives
Labour has a clear plan but needs to deliver it – starting with a full-throated rejection of any scramble for fossil fuels in the North Sea.”
asserted
Labour → have → Sea
The decision on the future of the Rosebank and Jackdaw drilling sites was reportedly postponed for the byelection, and McCarthy said it would “truly define this government’s legacy on climate”.
uncertain
it → postpone → climate
Failure to recognise and tackle the damage caused to the UK by a summer of record heat and drought would prove costly, campaigners warned.
asserted
campaigners → recognise → heat
A record El Niño weather system is brewing, super-charged by global heating and likely to bring heatwaves, droughts and floods to key agricultural areas, pushing millions into hunger and raising food prices globally.
asserted
system → brew → prices
Rosie Downes, the head of campaigns at Friends of the Earth, said: “With El Niño bringing a wetter and stormier winter season to the UK, we desperately need to see some parties getting back in touch with reality.
asserted
parties → say → reality
The government must translate its words into action that delivers for people and the planet.”
asserted
that → translate → people
The Aporia
