ED Miliband was yesterday accused of punishing hard-up households — as he sneakily increased Labour’s hated boiler tax.
His Net Zero diktat forces boiler-makers to pay fines if they fail to sell enough eco-friendly but pricey heat pumps.
And now the Energy Secretary has quietly raised their target from six to eight per cent of overall sales.
Manufacturers had already added £150 to the price of boilers to offset the lower threshold — and they could now bump it again.
Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho accused Mr Miliband of making boilers increasingly unaffordable in the name of Net Zero.
She urged him to focus on making energy cheaper and backing consumer choice, adding: “These targets and fines will only get more punitive in the years ahead, piling on more pressure on families.
“Ed has slipped this out on a Friday afternoon because he’s hoping no one will notice.
“We have to stop taxing, banning, and bribing people into changing the way they live their lives just to meet Net Zero targets.”
Mike Foster, of trade body Energy Utilities Alliance, said: “We cannot accept a policy that punishes those who can’t afford to buy a heat pump, those whose home is not suitable for a heat pump or those who do not want one.”
