UK Tories vow to scrap green housing rules as parties clash on climate

The Conservative party plans to cancel new rules that require low-carbon features in new homes, a move that could raise household energy bills if it wins the next general election. Kemi Badenoch made scrapping the Future Homes Standard (FHS) a central part of her leadership bid at the Tory party conference this week. The FHS requires new homes to be built with solar panels, heat pumps and high-grade insulation. Without these rules, new homes would rely more on gas and electricity, increasing costs for residents. The Green party, meanwhile, has backed building new nuclear reactors. Labour has put decisions on new oil-drilling projects on hold. The conference season showed the three parties taking very different paths on climate policy — and drew criticism that they are more focused on scoring points against each other than on delivering action.