Activists queue outside Rishi Sunak's mansion for a dip in his heated £400k pool

29 March 2023 , 13:27

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Protestors said they wanted to highlight the 'hypocrisy' of the UK’s richest ever Prime Minister, who has 'failed to upgrade our outdated national grid'

Environmental protestors wearing swimming trunks, flip flops and scuba diving gear have lined up outside Rishi Sunak ’s mansion waiting for a dip in his private heated pool.

Greenpeace activists formed a queue at the gates of the PM’s £2million Grade-II listed manor house in Richmond, Yorkshire in protest of his luxurious energy-draining pool.

It was revealed earlier this month Mr Sunak’s new £400,000 private heated pool is said to use so much energy that the local electricity grid to be upgraded.

Protestors said they wanted to highlight the “hypocrisy” of the UK’s richest ever Prime Minister, who has “failed to upgrade our outdated national grid, which remains unable to deliver the green energy revolution for the rest of us that would lower bills and help tackle the climate crisis”.

Activists queue outside Rishi Sunak's mansion for a dip in his heated £400k pool eiddiqeziqrqinv

Greenpeace activists queued at the gates of the PM’s £2million Grade-II listed manor house for a dip in his heated energy-draining pool

According to Ofgem, a smart grid could save up to £4.7billion a year by the end of this decade - which could help to bring down energy bills.

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An estimated 350 public swimming pools have been forced to shut or reduce opening hours because of soaring , MPs heard earlier this month.

Philip Evans, Greenpeace UK’s climate campaigner, 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“While Sunak will enjoy doing lengths in his warm pool, the rest of us are stuck with an outdated power network, not fit for purpose, that’s blocking the roll-out of more cheap and clean renewables.

“Securing green energy for all should be the focus of the 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.

Activists queue outside Rishi Sunak's mansion for a dip in his heated £400k pool

Greenpeace activists wore swimming trunks, flip flops and scuba diving gear for the protest (© Lucy Cartwright / Greenpeace)

Protestors said the PM has 'failed to upgrade our outdated national grid' (© Lucy Cartwright / Greenpeace)

“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.”

Greenpeace is urging the Government to listen instead to energy experts who have warned that without upgrading the outdated grid we won’t be able to roll out renewables at the speed needed to tackle the cost of energy and climate crisis.

Household bills could rise if the government further delays its plan to rid the power network of polluting fossil fuels by 2035, Whitehall spending watchdog warned earlier this month.

"The longer it takes before government finalises its delivery plan, the greater the risk that it won't achieve that ambition to decarbonize power by 2035, or that doing so will cost consumers more," Simon Bittlestone, the National Audit Office’s director of value for money studies, said.

A spokesperson for the prime minister declined to comment on the works at his constituency home at the time of the reports.

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