Boris Johnson kicks gas boiler ban into the long grass after mounting backlash
In response to a mounting backlash over the planned ban of gas boilers, Boris Johnson has caved in to growing criticism and has delayed it until 2040, kicking the detested plan into the long grass. This is a victory for common sense and will be widely welcomed.
According to news reports, the Prime Minister is set to delay the gas boiler ban by 5 years, shifting it to 2040. Boris Johnson’s about-turn is a big win for critics who have been campaigning against this extremely costly and unpopular plan in recent weeks.
Sensible though these changes are, there is more to do, and the GWPF is calling on the Prime Minister to extend the delay also to the planned 2025 ban on gas boilers in new-build properties. This plan threatens to add many thousands of pounds to a new-built property and would make buying a new home unaffordable for most young Britons and ordinary families.
Boris Johnson is right to be concerned about the social and political risks and repercussions of a hugely unpopular ban. The GWPF has been urging the Prime Minister to pause and reconsider the poorly designed and extremely costly green home heating plans. His decision to delay the ban will now allow ministers to go back to the drawing board and consider realistic alternatives.
The GWPF's director Benny Peiser said:
The gas boiler reprieve is a clear indication that growing criticism of the ban has made a real difference. Johnson’s intervention, overriding industry lobbying, is a welcome development and marks the first significant success in the campaign against Net Zero’s astronomical cost burden."
It is almost certain that it won’t be the last costly Net Zero plan that will have to be delayed, watered down or scrapped as public concern and anger grows.”
