Britain’s miserabilist view of energy policy is never as clear as during a heatwave. That’s because, unlike virtually every other civilised country, British housebuilders are de facto banned from installing air conditioning. Our building regulations say that housebuilders must exhaust every other “passive” option for cooling buildings – from airflow to shutters to awnings – before local council pen pushers will let them install air con. The result is that most of our homes are built without it. That’s why 3% of British homes have air con, compared to 90% in the US, Japan and Korea. Why do we have this mad ban in place? Because our political class, including erstwhile Conservatives such as Robert Jenrick, said it ‘used too much energy’. This is an anti-growth mindset that must be rejected. Cheap, abundant energy is the foundation of prosperity, but the problem with the net zero ideology is that it turned this fundamental truth on its head. Energy use became a bad thing to be demonised, and the result is that we made electricity scarce and expensive by focusing on decarbonisation over cost and security of supply. Prices went through the roof and fewer and fewer people now use it. But as energy demand has collapsed in the UK, so have growth and living standards. That’s why two years ago I made a speech saying we would need to prepare for more energy demand to fuel AI and air con, or risk becoming poorer and less prosperous. The fact that we are one of the only major economies that has decided the solution to hot days is to “sweat it out” tells you everything you need to know about our warped energy ideology. All the evidence shows that in heatwaves people sleep far fewer hours, productivity plummets and children struggle in school. Why would we limit access to a technology that is proven to save lives, boost productivity and make people more comfortable? It is even more absurd when you consider that Ed Miliband is carving up the countryside for masses of solar farms – solar farms that we are going to be paying millions of pounds to switch off when it’s too sunny in the summer. Yet air conditioning demand peaks in the summer at exactly the same time as those solar farms are generating more electricity than the grid can use. That’s how mad our energy policy is – we are now building energy generation that we want to stop the public from using. We really are through the looking glass now. This is all part of the mind rot that has infected all echelons of government, which sees UK energy usage as uniquely bad and will do everything it can to drive it down – even when that means transferring our industries’ emissions to coal-powered China, or blocking our households from enjoying the growth, prosperity and consumer benefits that other countries allow. That’s why rather than embrace AI, Labour are currently agonising about whether it’s compatible with net zero - and why they would rather use Putin’s oil than back our British industry in Aberdeen. Under Kemi Badenoch and my leadership, we Conservatives are taking a new approach. We need to get back to energy realism by repealing the Climate Change Act. We need to prioritise cheap, abundant energy by backing the North Sea, doubling down on nuclear and adopting our Cheap Power Plan to make electricity cheap. Energy policy should serve the needs of the British public, not the other way around. That’s why we would axe the outdated building regulations that are blocking air con and build an energy system which puts consumers first.

It's way too hot out there. The next Conservative government will reverse the aircon ban created by @RobertJenrick, which blocks new homes from being built with air conditioning. That's the one he's talking about here ⬇️

Under Reform, hard work will be rewarded. No tax on overtime. You keep the extra money you earn. Not Rachel Reeves. Simple.

Trump evacuated after shots were heard at a hotel he was about to give a speech at. Btw, the guy was showing a note in private to Trump then tore off the paper and showed it in a way for everyone to see and the camera to pick up. Interesting coincidence?

Trump is now attacking the Pope for speaking out against war while posting images of himself as a messianic figure. This is not only offensive. It is deranged, egomaniacal behavior. When will Republicans in Congress stop blindly following this dangerous and unhinged man?

My message here clearly struck a nerve. A few friends from when I was press secretary, domestically and abroad, don’t like what I said. Instead of seeing how Western European nations must change, they just want to attack Trump. The reason it struck a nerve is because they recognize that this time NATO nations are being held to account. They know they’ve come up short for decades and by denying us overflight rights, they’ve gone too far. Americans are fed up, especially with France and Spain. Trump won’t stand for it and they know it. They now fear the consequences of their inaction. The UK, unlike its days under Thatcher or Blair, is wishy-washy. They’ve often been a good allie, but this time they want to sit it out and have it both ways. We can use their bases, but only for limited operations. At least the UK spends real money on defense. France, Spain, and Italy are another story. So too is Canada. None of these four contribute seriously to NATO. They’re laggards, trying to get away with it. Spain and France force our pilots to fly thousands of miles out of the way (I thought they didn’t like carbon footprints) en route to Iran. Eastern Europe is a different story. They spend more on defense and they understand power. They lived under Soviet domination and recognize weakness when they see it. They won’t be weak. Western European governments, especially France, are good at issuing communiques and statements. They enjoy hosting conferences. They love to ponder deeply. Getting them to act is another matter, unless it’s to purchase Russian LNG, which they still do. The world is changing. Out of this war will come a new group of younger nations that understand real power and the importance of strength. The UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Eastern Europe will emerge stronger than ever. Western Europe will continue to fall behind. As for Trump, you don’t have to like him. He often says things none of his predecessors would say. But don’t underestimate the fact that US taxpayers are fed up with nations that don’t pull their weight, and then force our pilots to take risks and longer flights so we can rid the world from the menace that is Iran. Today’s Western European leaders would rather mollify Iran and pay them ransoms (trade) than support the US. Things are different today. We all know it. The UK, France, Spain and Italy (despite its Prime Minister) have earned the consequences that will unfold. They could have and should have supported us. Not as a NATO alliance. But as individual free nations. All we wanted was overflight rights and full access to airfields. They’ve made their choices. Soon, they’ll see the results.