Ed’s eco mania
IS Ed Miliband seriously considering forcing companies to sell heat pumps to customers who don’t want them?
Our eco-zealot Energy Secretary is preparing to fine firms who fail to meet heat pump sales quotas.
The cost of those fines will inevitably be passed on to buyers who reject the faltering new technology in favour of boilers that actually work.
In effect, another new tax of up to £180.
Consumers will buy products that are cheap and do the job.
Attempting to ignore the facts to bend the laws of supply and demand is bound to end in costly failure.
Imposing sales quotas on electric cars also sounded good — until punters stopped buying them and caused widespread alarm in the motor industry.
For years The Sun has warned that heat pumps are pricier and won’t keep your house as warm.
A National Audit Office report agreed with us.
Why should ordinary families be made to pay the price for this nonsense?
Rights & wrong
SHOPLIFTING is not a victimless crime.
Many workers are left cowering in fear as violent, organised gangs target their stores.
Traumatised staff face daily attacks just for trying to do their — often not that well paid — job.
Retailers rightly want to protect them by sharing images of known shoplifters.
But thanks to laws around privacy, they are banned from doing so.
Iceland boss Richard Walker rightly condemns this as “bonkers”.
Putting the privacy rights of criminals before the safety of innocent workers is an insult to common sense.
Shoplifting incidents rose 37 per cent last year — a shocking failure of police and Government.
Ministers must grip this epidemic.
Scrapping the £200 limit on thefts which gives serial thieves a free pass would be a start.
Terror boats
TORY leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick reveals known terrorists are posing as Channel migrants.
Another 707 illegally crossed in 11 boats on Saturday — taking the total this year to 24,335.
Can the Home Office say with any certainty that no-one on board those small boats means us harm?
No-one objects to attempts to smash the people-smuggling gangs.
But Britain urgently needs a proper deterrent.
We had one with the Rwanda scheme, now junked despite evidence it was putting off migrants who instead were heading to Ireland.
When will we get another?