LONDON          -     Labour is pledging to cut UK carbon emissions by 10% through the largest home improvement programme for decades. A Labour government would fund £60bn of energy-saving upgrades to low-income households over the next decade while wealthier households would receive interest-free loans for enhancements.

The party said loft insulation, enhanced double glazing and new heating systems would help cut energy use.

The Conservatives said the plan would “wreck the economy” and “put up bills”.

A spokesperson for the Tories said, while tackling climate change was vital, “independent experts and even Labour’s own unions say their promises don’t stack up”.

Launching the policy - called “Warm Homes for All” - in south-west London, Labour’s leader Jeremy Corbyn said climate change would be a big part of the party’s election campaign.

“The green industrial revolution, which we’re promoting, will create a sustainable energy network in the country,” he said. “We cannot go on standing by while climate warming increases.”

Labour says its proposals would create 450,000 jobs involved in the installation of energy-saving measures and renewable and low-carbon technologies.

Almost all of the UK’s 27 million homes would benefit from the pledge, either through a grant to fund works in full, or an interest-free loan, it said.

Interest-free loans to improve the energy efficiency of homes are already available in Scotland, where the issue is devolved to the Scottish government.

A Labour spokeswoman told the BBC the party would make every effort to work with devolved powers to implement the plan across the whole of the UK.

Households which take out the loan would pay it back through savings on energy bills, Labour added.

The party said the plan would cut carbon emissions by 10% by the year 2030 and reduce energy bills for 9.6 million low-income households by an average of £417 a year.

The policy echoes previous announcements from Labour, including a pledge last year to create over 400,000 skilled jobs through investment in renewable energy and making homes energy efficient.

Over the past year or so the Labour Party has come out with a series of proposals to improve the energy efficiency of British homes.

This plan is far larger - and also far more expensive. It involves over the next decade spending £250bn to fit every UK house with double-glazing and loft insulation, heat pumps and solar panels.