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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment

Heat pump plan is a gift for landlords

An air-source heat pump being installed in a house in Folkestone on 20 September 2021.
An air-source heat pump being installed in a house in Folkestone on 20 September 2021. Photograph: Andrew Aitchison/In Pictures/Getty Images

Giving low-income families free heat pumps (Report, 18 October) sounds like a great idea. However, I suspect that the majority of low-income families live in rented accommodation, so the only people to really benefit from this giveaway would be the landlords. What’s to stop their next step being to evict these low-income families, increase the rent for the their newly enhanced properties and pocket the extra money?
Peter L Hepworth
Leigh-on-Sea, Essex

• What does despair look like? Our political leaders using the word “win” when there can be no winners. What does hope look like? The picture of 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz shaking hands with one of her Hamas captors at the moment of her release as she says “shalom, the Hebrew word for peace (Report, 24 October).
Cynthia Gallaway
Twickenham, London

• Your summary of the match between Nottingham Forest and Luton Town was all about Forest’s disappointment (Saturday’s talking points, print edition, 23 October). Not a single word about the grit, determination and spirit shown by Luton in coming back to score twice in the last 10 minutes to secure a draw.
Margaret Chowdhury
Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire

• I feel sorry for some words that are nowadays nearly always used pejoratively. I’m thinking of “rhetoric”, “discrimination” and “austerity”, for example. Is there some way we can fight back to restore their more basic, favourable sense?
Michael Bulley
Chalon-sur-Saône, France

• That’s us screwed, then (AI risk must be treated as seriously as climate crisis, says Google DeepMind chief, 24 October).
Charles Harris
London

• Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.

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