Ed Miliband visits the West Midlands with key pledge for homeowners ahead of the General Election

Ed Miliband said he would act within the first week of a Labour government to relax planning regulations on onshore wind farms, which he said were adding £180 a year to the average household energy bill in the run up to the General Election.

The former Labour leader was joined by candidate Leigh Ingham for the visit to the Victoria Gate housing development in Stafford, where the pair were taken on a tour of an energy self-sufficient house. Under a deal between Bellway Homes and Octopus Energy, the house comes with a guarantee of no energy bills for the first five years. The property, which carries a £5,000 premium over a house without the guarantee, includes solar panels, a storage battery and a heat pump.

Mr Miliband said the scheme demonstrated how there was 'no catch' to the transition towards renewable energy.

"We have got a cost-of-living crisis at the moment, and that has happened because the world has become dependent for too long on dictators like Putin to meet our energy needs.

"There is some debate about should we move to net-zero, is it going to cost too much?

"The answer is no, it can save people money. Now, in Britain, the cheapest, cleanest form of power is not imported gas, it is solar power, wind power, that is now the cheapest.

"I think most people who've been offered the chance to buy a zero-bills home would say, 'where's the catch?'.

"Well, as far as I can tell, there isn't a catch and that's because the combination of battery technology, heat pump technology and solar panels in a new-build home, can get you to a zero-bills home."

Planning regulations introduced in 2015 gave local authorities the power to refuse permission for wind farms on the basis of a single objection. The laws were modified slightly last year, requiring the councils to weigh up the views of the whole community, and not just those who are opposed to the plans. But developers still say the rules amount to an effective ban, with just 20 schemes being approved over a nine-year period.

Mr Miliband said a Labour government would also look at beefing up energy efficiency standards for newly built houses.

"We should have a future home standard and that's the right thing for the environment, but crucially, it's the right thing for tackling the cost-of-living crisis because year on year on year of lower bills or zero bills is something I think we'd all want to see."

Mr Miliband said Sir Keir Starmer had been right to suspend Labour candidate Kevin Craig as he joined the growing list of politicians linked to the betting scandal that is threatening to engulf Westminster.

Mr Craig, is alleged to have bet on himself to lose the election in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich.

Mr Craig will still appear on the ballot paper as a Labour candidate, though, as the deadline for withdrawal has passed and the ballot paper printed.

The party has also returned a £100,000 donation from Mr Craig, a prominent businessman.

Mr Miliband said Sir Keir's swift action contrasted with Rishi Sunak's reluctance to step in after two Conservative candidates, Montgomeryshire's Craig Williams and Laura Saunders in Bristol North West, were accused of placing bets on the date of the General Election

"Rishi Sunak had to be dragged kicking and screaming a week after the revelations and goodness knows how long after the Conservative party knew about them to withdraw his support from two candidates," said Mr Miliband.

"As soon as Keir Starmer and the Labour party knew there was an inquiry going on by the Gambling Commission, we suspended our support for our candidate, and I think that was the right thing to do.

"I think it is exactly what the British people want to see, a leader who will put the country first, not their party.”