On 28 October, Keir Starmer posted the following to Elon Musk’s Twitter:
We are giving every bill payer on means-tested benefits extra help with their energy bills this winter.
Supporting people with their bills while we fix the rusting energy system we inherited.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) October 28, 2025
That’s very interesting, we thought; it sounds like Labour have a new welfare policy.
Looking into it, though, we couldn’t find anything that confirmed this.
As such, we’re beginning to think that…
…Starmer is just describing the Warm Homes Discount Scheme?
Which we’ve had since 2011?
‘Support’
The government describes this scheme as follows:
The Warm Home Discount Scheme is a one-off £150 discount off your electricity bill.
If you’re eligible, your electricity supplier will apply the discount to your bill. The money is not paid to you.
Although it was first suggested by Labour, David Cameron’s coalition government introduced the Warm Home Discount Scheme in 2011. The scheme was set to end in 2015, but the government extended it; no doubt because austerity-driven poverty meant the Tories couldn’t get away with scrapping it. They had to extend it again too – no doubt for the same reason.
So let’s look at Starmer’s tweet:
We are giving every bill payer on means-tested benefits extra help with their energy bills this winter.
Supporting people with their bills while we fix the rusting energy system we inherited.
Technically he doesn’t say they’re doing anything new, but saying ‘this winter’ implies it wasn’t happening last winter. Additionally, ‘supporting people while we fix the system’ suggests it’s a stop-gap scheme which is only running while they get on top of things. None of it is explicit; it all just gives an impression of something happening without actually committing to anything (much like Starmer’s government in general).
Just imagine if they used the time it takes to draft misleading tweets working on actual policies? A new approach seems needed too, given that energy prices have continued to rise under Starmer.
On Wednesday 1 October, this meant a 2% rise to £1,755 a year. While 2% may not sound like much by itself, bear in mind that prices are still considerably higher than before 2020:
This is all doubly problematic for many of those who claim the Warm Home Scheme discount, as Hannah Sharland wrote for the Canary:
figures represent what the ‘average’ household increase will be. In reality, it means that for many households, the rise will be a lot higher. This applies to those whose typical energy bill sits above this average – often because they need more gas and electricity. Because what really matters is how much the unit price – the price per kilowatt hour of energy – the cost is going up by.
Of course, this means chronically ill and disabled people who typically have greater energy needs for aids and equipment to help manage their conditions. Alongside this, people in less energy efficient housing will invariably pay more for their fuel costs as well. Naturally, many pensioners will also be among those with larger energy demands too.
This is Starmer before he took power, by the way:
Labour would stop the energy price cap rise in April, paid for by a proper windfall tax on oil and gas giants.
And with @RachelReevesMP as Chancellor, Labour will deliver clean power and warm homes, cutting energy bills, for good.https://t.co/WtPIoIMHA7
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) January 21, 2023
Busted
Among those who accused Starmer of repackaging an old policy was Canary journalist Rachel Charlton-Dailey (a.k.a. ‘Rachel C Sweary‘):
Warm Homes discount has been around since 2011 https://t.co/sP4GeTO6SN
— Rachel Charlton-Dailey (@RachelCDailey) October 28, 2025
The criticisms didn’t stop there either:
Copper doesn’t rust. https://t.co/1qk5wcBMFb
— Neil (@ofjmx) October 28, 2025
We’re not sure how Starmer will respond to the criticisms, but we’re guessing he’ll try to pass off an old David Cameron tweet as his own.
Featured image via BBC
