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On the Today programme this week, Theo Bertram of the Social Market Foundation appeared to discuss his think tank’s commentary, ‘Deep Fakerfield’, on misinformation spread during the Makerfield by-election. He listed some false stories circulating on social media: that Andy Burnham’s wife owns an EV company, that Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, attended a violent pro-Palestinian march – and that Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, wants to ban tumble dryers. Bertram said this last one ‘may sound funny, but widely seems to be believed’.
If Miliband’s regulations make the tumble dryers most people own unavailable to buy, it’s understandable why people call it a ban
As Charles Moore points out in his Notes this week, Bertram wasn’t challenged on that last one. Should he have been? On 19 March, the government made a law imposing new requirements on tumble dryers sold from 19 January next year. The legislation raises energy efficiency standards in a way that is designed to ‘effectively phase out gas-fired, airvented and condenser household tumble dryers from being sold on the GB market, so that only the most efficient, heat pump household tumble dryers will be available’. They are’t explicitly banned (of course, if you already have one, you will be able to keep using it), but the way they work means they will not be able to be sold.
