Rebuilding through glass: how better windows could spark a UK industry revival

Millions of homes across the country are haemorrhaging heat thanks to outdated, inefficient windows. Single-glazed panes, rotting frames, poor seals - you name it. A particularly hard-hit sector is private rental, with old windows contributing to black mould and health problems, as well as leaving homes more vulnerable to break-ins.

The good news is that there is a golden opportunity to fix things.

Cutting bills and waste

Homes can lose up to 18% of their heat through their windows. Replacing old windows with modern, energy-efficient ones could save households hundreds of pounds a year on their energy bills.

This isn’t just about money - it’s about fairness. Millions of families, particularly those in older housing stock, are forced to crank up the thermostat just to stay warm. Why should they suffer freezing winters and sky-high bills when upgrades (including windows and insulation) could ensure that everyone can afford to stay warm?

Boosting British jobs

Britain has a proud glass manufacturing industry, with major sites in Merseyside and Yorkshire. But in recent years, the sector has been under pressure from rising energy costs and cheap glass imports, and we’ve already seen the collapse of household names and the loss of hundreds of jobs.

Government investment in a national window replacement scheme wouldn’t just warm our homes – it could reignite the British flat glass industry and secure vital jobs. We’re talking skilled jobs, apprenticeships, and secure employment in the very areas that need it most. It’s real levelling up.

We also need to bring our industrial electricity costs down, to ensure that UK sites remain competitive internationally, and aren’t replaced by imports.

Labours' Warm Homes Plan

There’s been significant progress in upgrading social housing (although there’s still lots of work to be done), giving our most vulnerable citizens the safety, cost-reductions, and quiet they deserve from public housing. This progress shows that it is possible to refit thousands of properties quickly.

The Labour Government has laid out plans to scale up retrofitting and fix our leaky homes. Its landmark £13.2 billion Warm Homes Plan aims to upgrade an additional 5 million homes during this Parliament, providing the modern, comfortable, low-carbon homes we deserve.

The Warm Homes Plan should also include conditions so that upgraded windows are made in the UK, supporting our communities while upgrading our homes. We need public and private investment into existing glass factories to decarbonise operations and futureproof jobs. And we need lower industrial electricity prices for the glass sector, so that it can be made more competitive internationally.

That way, we can defend British jobs and our domestic flat glass industry - and give the UK the windows it deserves.