Labour’s delays to a plan that would see more homes insulated is leaving Britons colder and poorer this winter, Tory MPs have warned.

Ed Miliband’s flagship £13billion plan for slashing energy bills by getting homes to ramp up energy efficiency measures and shifting away from gas boilers has been delayed because of disagreements within government.

Aphra Brandreth MP said: “Households should not be expected to pay for Labour’s continued incompetence.

“The continued delay of the Warm Homes Plan due to Labour infighting has left households exposed to rising energy prices this winter.

“Despite being promised earlier this year, there is still no sign of its publication and rumours are now mounting it will be drastically cut. Warm words won’t stop households freezing this winter and won’t cut emissions.

“Continuing to delay will only exacerbate the pain. As part of the plan, Labour needs to finally get on with cutting taxes on electricity, which is slowing the uptake of more energy efficient, clean heating, and provide meaningful incentives for improving homes’ energy efficiency, thereby reducing their energy bills and making it easier for them to go green.”

Labour has promised to slash energy bills by £300 by 2030.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is said to be considering cutting the 5% VAT on gas and electricity and stripping out green and policy charges that currently make electricity pricier than gas at her Budget.

Meanwhile hundreds of thousands of homeowners could lose their right to subsidies for eco-friendly heat pumps as a result of government plans to bring down energy bills at the statement on November 26.

Graham Stuart MP: “Labour promised to get a grip on energy bills — instead, prices are already rising as they rush headlong towards 2030.

“Their indecision and infighting have now delayed, and possibly gutted, vital support to make homes more energy-efficient. The Warm Homes Plan could have been a lifeline this winter — cutting electricity taxes, rewarding households for retrofitting, and easing the cost-of-living crisis. Instead, it’s another chance wasted by a government paralysed by its own economic mismanagement.”

He said the Conservatives made homes warmer by raising the number of homes with an EPC energy rating of C or above from 14% to 60% in 14 years.

Elinor Bale, climate programme manager at the Conservative Environment Network, said “The Warm Homes plan, which was promised earlier this year, was meant to cut energy bills and deliver on the government’s admirable manifesto promises.”

She added: “Homes are responsible for 14% of UK emissions so improving their energy efficiency will help us to decarbonise. As well as harming households’ financial wellbeing, the delays are also undermining this government’s climate change ambitions.”

Ms Reeves could decide at the Budget to restrict heat-pump subsidies so that only those receiving certain benefits will be allowed to claim them, sharply bringing down costs to the government.

Jess Ralston, energy analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), warned any slowdown of the heat pump roll out would put the UK’s energy security and independence in jeopardy.

She added: “The scheme’s success is in providing certainty that has allowed small businesses and larger manufacturers alike to invest in building up supply chains. Sending mixed signals now could be seen as a slap in the face for those businesses and the people who work for them, and could mean less growth in the very industries the Government says it wants to support.”

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesman said: “Everyone deserves to live in a warm, comfortable home. That’s why we are helping around six million households this winter by expanding the £150 Warm Home Discount, and launching a comprehensive Warm Homes Plan later this year to make homes cheaper and cleaner to run, cutting families energy bills for good.”