COLUMN: MP wants more support for local home owners
"I have frequently spoken out on digital connectivity, transport infrastructure, and the rural economy in Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr. These issues are all interconnected and cannot be solved without being addressed together.
There is another challenge facing Mid Wales that does not get enough attention: decarbonising our homes.
If we are serious about reducing our dependency on fossil fuels, lowering energy bills, and slowing the pace of climate change – which I am – this is an issue that cannot be ignored either.
Our homes are responsible for around 20% of the UK’s emissions. But in places like Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, where nearly half of households aren’t connected to the gas grid, the problem runs deeper.
Many of our homes rely on old, carbon-heavy fuels like oil and conventional LPG. That means cutting emissions here is tougher and more urgent.
Labour is starting to turn the tide. Planning reforms have made it easier to install clean technology like heat pumps, and myself and likeminded Labour MPs have launched the Labour Rural Research Group to make sure the government’s energy policy is working for rural communities.
Here the heat pump revolution is not quite so simple. Homes built before 1945 — often with solid walls or timber frames - do not always suit heat pumps. And Wales has some of the oldest housing stock in Europe - some 26% of homes were built before 1919.
Add in weak grid infrastructure, costly retrofits, and limited technical feasibility, and for too many homes in the constituency, heat pumps will not be suitable.
That is why we need real choice for rural households. We need practical, affordable options that cut emissions now, not 10 years down the line.
One such option a renewable liquid gases (RLGs) like bioLPG. These low-carbon fuels work in existing boilers, slashing emissions by up to 92% compared to heating oil without the need for expensive renovations.
Hybrid heat pump systems, backed by the Climate Change Committee, also offer a good path forward, combining efficiency with resilience during cold snaps.
And this is not just about policy. People back this approach. In a recent survey, 76% of rural households said they’d support keeping their boilers if they could switch to renewable fuels beyond 2035. The appetite is there, we now need political will and a plan that works for everyone.
Labour’s Warm Homes Plan is a bold start. £13 billion for cheaper, greener heating is a game-changer. But to deliver on that promise in places like Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, we need flexibility, not one-size-fits-all solutions.
For our constituency, this is about fairness and feasibility. We have to be doing everything we can to tackle climate change, but we need to do this in a way that brings working class people and rural communities with us, or we risk undermining such efforts.
Net Zero cannot just be for the cities and suburbs. It has to work for the whole of Wales, from the high streets to the hillsides."
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