Labour bans traditional tumble dryers to impose Brussels Net Zero madness on Britain

Labour's plans to adopt EU laws will lead to a nationwide ban of conventional tumble dryers.

Brussels-based eurocrats have already decreed they'll enforce Net Zero targets on Northern Ireland, and forbid the use of dryers that are not linked to heat pumps.

But MPs have reacted with fury over plans by the energy secretary Ed Miliband who is plotting to forbid the much-loved household product across the UK.

Alex Burghart MP, the shadow Northern Ireland secretary, warned that "Labour’s attempts to interfere in people’s lives know no bounds."

The top Tory said that change was "more damning evidence" that Mr Miliband's "obsession with net zero" would leave British families out of pocket.

He told the Daily Express there was "even more red tape yet to come" as Labour pursued its agenda to cosy up to Brussels.

This paper has long campaigned to keep the United Kingdom a sovereign country outside of the EU, and free to make our own laws.

Our 'Give Us A Proper Brexit' Crusade, which was launched earlier this year, has clashing EU red tape as one of its main objectives.

The de facto ban on conventional tumble dryers is already in place in Northern Ireland, which Jim Allister MP claimed was imposed by Brussels "in order to help achieve their Net Zero targets."

From July last year the only new dryers available across Northern Ireland were the "significantly more expensive" heat pump variants, he told the Daily Express.

Traditional tumble dryers are cheaper to purchase. Analysis from Which? shows a basic model could be purchased for just £220.

However heat pump dryers range from £350 to £1,000. Which? does stress that they pay for themselves remarkably quickly.

Such dryers do not require the installation of a heat pump in the owner's home. Instead, they use the same technology as heat pumps.

These dryers by absorbing water trapped in laundry with hot air which is then passed over an evaporator which extracts the water and stores it in a tank.

The air is reheated before returning to the drum which consumer champions say makes them more efficient than conventional dryers which use a constant supply of cool air, heated to dry out clothes.

Following complaints from Mr Allister and others the government retaliated by announcing plans, without a vote in parliament, to roll the ban out nationwide.

The move was being done to "allow Northern Ireland to be used to justify undermining Brexit in Great Britain" the TUV MP claimed.

"The only way forward for a secure and sustainable Brexit is for the whole UK to take back control so every part of the UK makes its own laws.

"For so long as part of the UK effectively remains in the EU, the EU and our current government will use it to justify bringing the rest of the UK into alignment with the EU."

One major manufacturer of tumble dryers, Bosch Group said they welcomed the decision.

A spokesman added: "We support measures that improve energy efficiency and contribute to sustainability objectives, provided they are implemented in a clear and predictable regulatory framework.

"We remain committed to working closely with policymakers to support the transition towards more energy-efficient household appliances while ensuring consumer choice and technological innovation."

The Government confirmed the move and admitted that the measures mirrored those imposed by the EU when approached by this newspaper.

A spokesman for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: "Energy efficient tumble dryers will save households up to £910 over their machine’s 20-year lifetime - putting money back into the pockets of hard-working people."

Which? say that the average heat pump model costs around £52 a year to run, compared to £130 for a more traditional model.

Justin Macmullan, Which? principal policy adviser, said that "raising efficiency standards drives innovation and cuts household energy bills."

But he urged the government to "continue to set clear timetables for raising standards to remove the least efficient models from sale, backed by clear energy labelling so consumers can easily choose the best option."