Responding to the announcement today on the future of the Clean Heat Market Mechanism, Mike Foster CEO of the trade body Energy and utilities Alliance (EUA) and vocal critic of the “boiler tax” said:

“We welcome the delay in the introduction of the boiler tax, as confirmed today by the government. It ends weeks of speculation in the media. However, this decision is clearly political, not about heating policy. The government have set a trap for a future administration, which according to the polls is likely to be Labour, knowing the boiler tax from 2025 is likely to be around £200.

But it is an obvious trap, so obvious it has warning lights and bells attached. It could be up to Labour Ministers to decide whether to go ahead with the boiler tax, but they have been warned, the public don’t like it; it hits the least well off the hardest and the whole policy needs to be revisited before it harms British companies and British workers.”