Green Energy for the Red Wall

Britain’s energy bills are a drag on people’s lives and our economy. Sky-high costs don’t just hurt households on low incomes, they push up inflation, squeeze disposable income and slow growth. Meanwhile the right wing endlessly blames green energy for high bills — and far too many people believe it. That narrative is wrong. And it’s dangerous.

Here’s the thing… we already have the solution under our noses: solar power on millions of rooftops. And because the cost of panels has collapsed, the numbers now stack up in a way that’s too good to ignore.

This report shows how a national rooftop solar rollout across one million social homes in England – delivered through GB Energy, the publicly owned energy company – would:

• Cut household bills — with average savings of around £530 a year.

• Strengthen energy security — generating up to 5 TWh of clean electricity yearly.

• Deliver a financial return — paying for itself and making nearly £8bn for the taxpayer over 25 years.

• Cut emissions, tackle energy poverty and boost local jobs in installation and maintenance.

That’s not theory, that’s reality. And it’s the kind of policy people can see and feel working in their own lives.

A programme like this makes sense on every front:

• Rooftop solar bypasses grid queues and delays — we can roll it out fast.

• Social housing means bulk installs are cheaper and quicker.

• The government sells excess power back through the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), cashing in on clean energy instead of handing profits to big fossil companies.

And politically, this matters. In places where right-wing myths still cut through - think Red Wall towns - this policy gives people their own stake in clean power and a visible success story ahead of the next election.

Look at the returns: for a £3bn upfront cost, households save billions over time and the government makes money back through energy exports. The project pays for itself in as little as seven years and keeps returning value long after. That’s smart public investment. It’s not expensive, it’s profitable.

It also stacks up as part of Britain’s broader energy security strategy. Solar directly on homes cuts waste, reduces dependence on volatile fossil markets, and gives communities a sense of ownership over their power.

We already know rooftop solar works. It’s being used across NHS trusts to cut costs, and now we need to scale it to where it matters most. Starting with social housing means we help the people who need it most and deliver results quickly.

This is how net zero becomes a bill-cutting agenda, not a scapegoat for high costs. The tech’s ready. The rooftops are there. And the returns speak for themselves.

So let’s do it. Let’s build the solar revolution from the top down and the bottom up — beginning in the Red Wall, where it can change minds and change lives… let’s get on with it… :)