Community groups lobby Hastings MP for action on warm homes

Letters were presented to the MP from members of Hastings and St Leonards RSPB, Hastings and East Sussex Natural History Society, Transition Town Hastings, Energise Sussex Coast, Hastings People’s Assembly, Hastings MP Watch and Extinction Rebellion Hastings & St Leonards.

The groups requested Sally-Ann Hart to sign a pledge to keep her constituents warm every winter, by urging the government to rapidly insulate homes and make the transition from oil and gas to cheaper renewable energy. As well as reducing bills, this would cut carbon emissions and protect the planet.

Leah Levane from Hastings People’s Assembly said: “Many people in Hastings live in cold damp housing that they can’t afford to heat, particularly in the private rented sector. We need a national programme to upgrade properties now, starting with those hardest hit by the cost of living crisis.”

Figures from the Warm This Winter campaign show that more than 1,000 people died in England as a result of living in sub-standard homes in December 2022 alone. Sally-Ann Hart was urged to press for an increase in minimum energy standards for private rental housing via the Energy Security Bill.

Kate Meakin from Energise Sussex Coast said: “To make bills affordable, the UK must produce far more renewable energy, far more quickly. We have a local solar farm ready to go but we can’t connect it to the National Grid because there isn’t enough capacity. The government needs to prioritise infrastructure for green energy instead of subsidising oil and gas.”

In response, Sally-Ann Hart said that she supports the Local Electricity Bill, which would enable electricity generated locally to be sold at affordable prices to the community. She agreed to back the Warm This Winter campaign by writing to the Minister for Energy Security and asking questions on home insulation and the upgrading of the national electricity network.

Jessica Townsend of Hastings MP Watch said: “It’s essential that our local MP takes up these issues because we need immediate government action to make UK housing energy efficient.”

Yee Chuan Mayhew of Extinction Rebellion Hastings and St Leonards said: “Uninsulated homes running on expensive oil and gas are not only a misery for people living in them, but also cause carbon emissions that lead to climate chaos and devastate the natural world.”

Gill Norman, one of the Climate Ambassadors for East Sussex Federation of Women’s Institutes, attended the meeting and said: “WI members are very concerned about the cost of living and the effects of climate change. These problems can be addressed by insulating homes and committing the UK to a major green energy programme.

"I’m pleased that Sally-Ann Hart has given her support to the Warm This Winter campaign and I will be contacting other East Sussex and Brighton and Hove MPs urging them to do the same.”