Ed Miliband in hypocrisy row over gas boiler at his constituency home

Ed Miliband has been accused of hypocrisy after it emerged he still has a gas boiler in his constituency home despite his heat pump push.

The Energy Secretary – who is spearheading the widespread adoption of the green technology – was the only Cabinet minister to say he had a heat pump at his own home when asked by The Telegraph in February.

However, new receipts posted on the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) suggest he retains a gas boiler at his property in Doncaster North.

Mr Miliband listed £168.91 in expenses in February for a “dual fuel” bill. The Sun reported that £121.18 of this was spent on gas, while £47.73 was for electricity.

It is understood a heat pump is installed in his north London home.

The revelation comes as families face an effective £25 “boiler tax” because manufacturers are struggling to sell enough heat pumps to avoid Government fines.

Boiler firms are expected to be hit with a £30m bill for failing to meet strict net zero quotas, with the cost of penalties set to be passed on to customers.

Mr Miliband’s department previously said it “did not recognise” the estimated fines, and insisted it had set “realistic sales targets”.

Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary, said: “Yet again, it’s one rule for Labour and another for the rest of us. Ed Miliband is charging taxpayers for his own gas boiler – at the same time as he’s bringing in a boiler tax that will hit hard-working Britons.

“We need to put cheap energy first and focus on cutting bills, only the Conservatives will take a common sense approach to energy.”

Richard Tice, Reform deputy leader, said: “Even mad Ed Miliband cannot commit to net zero on the most personal level.

“He is not only guilty of an obsession with failed policy, but also of lying to and deceiving the British public.

“The level of hypocrisy is unmatched. It’s always the same with Labour: imposing policies, tax hikes, and restrictions on the public, while exempting themselves in private.”

Nigel Farage added: “Do as I say and not as I do is the Ed Miliband message.”

The Government initially had a target of installing 600,000 heat pumps every year by 2028 – though The Telegraph reported in June this ambition was being quietly scrapped.

At the weekend, it was also revealed Mr Miliband had blown almost £700m of taxpayer cash on heat pump grants during his first year in office.

A spokesman for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero said: “The Government is supporting consumers to make their own choices – and we are helping make that possible by bringing down the cost of heat pumps.”

[Source: Daily Telegraph]