Poll finds MPs would back the government on electricity tax cuts

• A landmark study of cross-party British MPs reveals varied attitudes towards the spark spread, home efficiency and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. 
• Exclusive polling has found that 48% of MPs would agree with removing levies from electricity to make heat pumps cheaper for UK households. 
• New data shows 36% of MPs have little to no familiarity with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
• Nearly half of Westminster politicians agreed that heat pumps and solar panels will be essential for helping British households reduce their impact on climate change.
• Heat pump leaders are calling on policymakers to better educate the population and to lower the cost of electricity. 

London, UK – August 26, 2025. A new landmark study of 111 British MPs reveals cross-party attitudes towards electricity prices and taxes, home efficiency measures and broader understanding of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. Heat pump leaders are calling for policymakers to use their influence to better educate people on clean energy-tech solutions, available incentives and to increase accessibility with cheaper electricity. 

Electricity tax reform – The clean energy tech revolution begins

Savanta conducted the study ‘Power Politics: Electrifying the Future of British Energy’ on behalf of leading clean energy tech company, Aira. The report found that near half (48%) of MPs would agree to reducing electricity costs to make heat pumps a more affordable alternative to gas boilers, with just 17% saying they would disagree. Overall, 34% said that they would remain neutral or would need to learn more about the benefits of cheaper electricity before backing the policy change.

The findings are a boost for campaigners urging the government to invest in more education and to use their policy powers to enable households to move away from fossil fuels.

In the UK, households currently pay four times more for their electricity than for gas, despite a large share of the country’s electricity coming from renewable sources such as wind, solar, and nuclear power. British households face some of the highest electricity prices in Europe, largely because about four-fifths of levies are added to electricity bills, with only one-fifth applied to gas bills, making electricity disproportionately more expensive. 

The study revealed a stark polarity of views among MPs, with opposition to removing levies on electricity bills driven predominantly by Liberal Democrats - 58% disagree - compared to 22% of Conservative MPs and just 10% of Labour MPs.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme - Still not widely understood, even by MPs

The Aira survey explores how much MPs in the House of Commons know about the government’s flagship heat pump adoption policy, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

Results reveal that just 8% of MPs know a lot about the £7,500 funding available to help households install a heat pump, with nearly one in ten (9%) revealing that they had never heard of the BUS. 

Awareness and familiarity with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme vary significantly between parties. Lib Dem MPs show the highest levels of awareness (100%) and familiarity (86%). In contrast, awareness is lowest among Conservative MPs (84%) - despite their party having introduced the policy in 2022 - while Labour MPs report the lowest familiarity at just 58%, with only 5% knowing a lot about the scheme. Overall, while almost nine in ten MPs are aware of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, actionable and detailed understanding is low.

Reducing household emissions - Sustainability starts at home

In response to survey questions about which actions they believe would make the biggest impact in helping their constituents cut household carbon emissions, the majority of MPs pointed to home insulation (71%) and the installation of double or triple glazing (54%) as the most effective solutions.

Nearly one in two MPs felt that installing renewable energy systems such as solar panels (49%) or replacing a gas or oil boiler with a heat pump (45%) would also significantly cut household emissions, showing growing support for clean energy-tech amongst British lawmakers.

Helping homes switch from a gas or oil boiler to a heat pump draws mixed views across parties, with 72% of Lib Dems and 50% of Labour MPs positive about the impact, versus just 24% of Conservatives.

Matt Isherwood, Aira UK Service Operations Director, said: “We wanted to find out how MPs see the future of our homes; how they think we can make them cleaner, warmer, and more affordable to run. This report shows us three things: that a strong number of MPs support heat pumps and cheaper electricity prices; that many politicians understand the role heat pumps play in reducing household carbon emissions; and that more needs to be done to educate policymakers and constituents, especially in relation to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme — the government’s flagship heat pump policy.

“The growing support for lower electricity prices shows that it’s high time to get down to business and deliver the ‘big bang’ moment the heat pump industry, politicians, and British households have been waiting for — one that will supercharge the country’s adoption of heat pumps and deliver lower, more stable energy bills for everyone.”

-ENDS-

For more information, please contact: 

Gabriella Irvine, Aira Group Head of PR - gabriella.irvine@airahome.com   

Notes to editors

1. Climate Change Committee: Progress in reducing emissions – 2025 report to Parliament, June 2025

Research conducted by Savanta on behalf of Aira. Savanta surveyed 111 MPs using their online MPs panel. A representative national sample of 111 Members of Parliament from all political parties and regions were asked their views on:

Q1. Thinking about your constituents' energy bills, to what extent do you agree or disagree that removing levies from electricity bills would help to make electric heating systems, such as heat pumps, a more affordable alternative to gas boilers across the UK? 

a) strongly disagree, b) disagree, c) neither agree or disagree, d) tend to agree, e) strongly agree, f) don’t know

Q2. Thinking specifically about global warming, how much of an impact, if any, do you think the following actions have on reducing a household's carbon footprint? 

a) Insulating your home, b) Installing double or triple glazed windows, c) Installing solar panels, d) Replacing a gas or oil boiler with a heat pump, e) Buying an electric car, f) Replace all light bulbs with LEDs, g) Become a vegan

Q3. How familiar, if at all, are you with government's Boiler Upgrade Scheme? 

a) Never heard of, b) Heard of but don't know about, c) Heard of and know a little about, d) Heard of and know a lot about

Data is weighted by party, region, age, gender, length of service, new/returning (at the last general election) and marginality of seat to make it representative of the House of Commons as a whole. Research conducted Summer 2025: 20th May – 17th June. Total sample: 111, 69 Labour, 21 Conservative, 12 Lib Dem, 9 Other. Figures may not sum to 100% due to rounding.