GREENPEACE activists staged a demonstration outside Rishi Sunak’s manor house in Richmond, Yorkshire where it was revealed earlier this month he paid privately for his local electricity grid to be upgraded to heat his private pool.
Activists wearing swimming trunks, flip flops and scuba diving gear have lined up outside the gates of his house in a bid to highlight the “hypocrisy” of the Prime Minister paying for private upgrades while the country struggles with soaring energy bills.
The demonstration comes ahead of the UK Government’s “energy security day” in which ministers are expected to announce policies to boost carbon capture and new fossil fuel projects that campaigners argue would do nothing for energy security.
Greenpeace UK’s climate campaigner Philip Evans said: “We’re queuing up for the Prime Minister’s heated pool because a better electricity grid should be a public good, not the private luxury of millionaires.
“While Sunak will enjoy doing lengths in his warm pool, the rest of us are stuck with an outdated power network, not fit for purpose, that’s blocking the roll-out of more cheap and clean renewables.”
He continued: “Securing green energy for all should be the focus of the UK Government this week. Instead they’re approving new oil drilling and giving tax breaks to fossil fuel giants, proving they really are out of their depth when it comes to tackling the climate and energy crisis.
“Sunak must upgrade our outdated grid and clear away other barriers to renewables so we can reap the full benefits of cheap energy from solar and wind, bringing down bills and carbon emissions alike.
“If he refuses, he leaves us stranded without a raft.”
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When the story on Sunak’s private pool was first reported, a spokesperson for the PM declined to comment on the works at his constituency home.
He bought the property for £1.5m in 2015, shortly after becoming the MP for Richmond and still regularly visits the house.
Sunak previously brushed off criticism of his privately heated pool, saying he “absolutely understands” people are facing issues with their energy bills.
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