Word of the year

The ultimate accolade for any word must be gaining the title of word of the year.

Akin to a rock star being inducted into the Hall of Fame, the honour is bestowed by various self-appointed defenders of language in various countries.

It started in 1990 with the American Dialect Society and in time washed up on these shores where it was adopted by various well-read types including, for the past 20 years, the Oxford University Press.

Reflecting the sign of the times, chav, omnishambles, selfie and vax have all made the grade and, on more than one occasion, climate related words that have come to dominate everyday conversation.

Carbon footprint was chosen in 2007 (a word can sometimes stretched to two or three) and in 2019 climate emergency.

We are only a quarter of the way through the year but a front runner for the 2024 accolade must be “move the dial” which seems to be an increasing mainstay of most news bulletins.

Will tougher sewage laws “move the dial” in terms of cleaning up Britain’s waterways?

Can Jude Bellingham “move the dial” in terms of England winning a football tournament this summer?

And most notably in recent budget coverage, would the cut in national insurance “move the dial” in terms of support for the Conservatives?

One area in which the Government definitely needs to “move the dial” is in the take-up by householders of green energy technology and in particular the replacement of fossil fuel boilers with heat pumps.

This has been identified as the single most important change that needs to happen in order for homes to meet the UK’s 2050 net zero obligations.

The good news is that last year set a new record with around 40,000 installations across the UK, but that’s still well short of the 600,000 a year needed by 2028.

Under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, householders who switch from fossil fuel to a heat pump qualify for a £7,500 grant. This makes the cost the same as installing a boiler.

And the Government has indicated it will remove the qualifying requirement to have no outstanding recommendations for loft and cavity wall insulation on a valid Energy Performance Certificate which should also help.

But will this alone be enough to persuade the millions of householders that need to switch to do so? Why go to the hassle if the current boiler works perfectly well seems to be the prevailing mood of many.

MCS, the body that certifies renewable products, has said radical policies are needed to achieve the exponential growth required. They want to see electricity costs reduced to encourage heat pump take-up and tackle fuel poverty.

MCS suggests this could be achieved by moving social and environmental tariffs from electricity bills into general taxation which would make the running of heat pumps substantially cheaper than a gas boiler.

Meanwhile, innovation charity Nesta fears the widely reported planned delay of the Clean Heat Market Mechanism sends the wrong signal.

CHMM would see boiler manufacturers incentivised to focus on heat pump sales but plans are apparently to be put on hold until at least 2025.

With a General Election looming and increasing numbers of voters becoming more environmentally aware, the party that best convinces it will “move the dial” in terms of the UK switching to a greener economy stands to reap the rewards.

The time has come for action, not simply words.