Labour promises -

[observer]

Well young Millipede has set out his stall for 2015, and a mix of goodies for most. Question is, given that we're still in the red, and the so-called recovery is still a distant hope; how will Red Ed get the money to pay for the hand outs? From borrowing, and get us even further in debt: or will he actually finally tackle the wealth gap and tax it from the rich; assuming of course that HMRC are up to the job of raking it in?!

[asperity]

Change the record Obs.

[inky pete]

His promise to freeze energy prices is little more than a guarantee that the lights will go out and we'll all freeze!

 

If a state tries to impose discounted and regulated prices in a multi-national marketplace then surely the multi-national companies involved will simply sell their wares for higher prices elsewhere.

[Eagle]

Well young Millipede has set out his stall for 2015, and a mix of goodies for most. Question is, given that we're still in the red, and the so-called recovery is still a distant hope; how will Red Ed get the money to pay for the hand outs? From borrowing, and get us even further in debt: or will he actually finally tackle the wealth gap and tax it from the rich; assuming of course that HMRC are up to the job of raking it in?!

 

Do you get a buzz in your loins when you use satirical phrases repeatedly like 'young Millipede'? Why don't you use words like 'Miliband' which would give your comments more credibility ( if that were possible of course)?

[Lt Kije]

Eagle, Only UKIP and EDL members are treated with any respect by Obs, anyone else is fair game, but don't have a go at UKIP or the EDL, or you will be labelled as the Liberal establishment having a go.

[Dizzy]

His promise to freeze energy prices is little more than a guarantee that the lights will go out and we'll all freeze!

 

If a state tries to impose discounted and regulated prices in a multi-national marketplace then surely the multi-national companies involved will simply sell their wares for higher prices elsewhere.

 

I can't see how he can say that they will impose a freeze on energy prices either.  How exactly is he proposing to do that ? 

 

Now if I was head of an energy company I'd be planning ahead now just in case he does find a way of doing it. 

 

I'd just increase my prices at an even more inflated rate regularly between now and the elections so that any price freeze, should it happen, is well over and above what it 'would' have been at the time anyway.  Simple   (ok so they already over inflate their prices but this would be bigger and more often and nowt Ofgen can do about it as that takes time and Millipede has already said he's going to scrap them)

 

Or of course I could also wait until the last minute, say 4 months before the election just as they are all starting to battle it out to be the next leaders, to announce a huge price hike which by 'chance' would come into force within weeks of the election... so vote for Labour and the price sticks at the mega inflated rate or vote for A.N. Other... who we have been in talks with and have agreed on a possible way forward that will see consumer prices DROP significantly while still maintaining the service required.

 

It's all one big game between the lot of them so we might as well all join in    

[asperity]

A significant reason for the high energy prices we are experiencing is the commitment made by the last Labour government to reduce CO2 emissions substantially, and one of the ways they decided to do this was to force the energy suppliers to use an increasing proportion of renewable energy (wind and solar) which is considerably more expensive than conventional power (coal, gas and nuclear). Guess who was Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change at the time?  Non other than young Ed Miliband. Hypocrite is too bland a description for him.

[Dizzy]

Was he really Asp?  What a prat !!     Saying that they are all as bad as each other which is why I have no time for any of them and their false promises, games and lies any more.

 

I just read out what you put out to my other half and he just smiled, nodded knowingly, and just said 'Now finally you see why I don't bother voting anymore'

[Lt Kije]

Significant, can you express that as a percentage Asp, And I am a fan of Nuclear power but I would not call it conventional, under 20% of electricity is made by nuclear in the UK, and the last Nuclear power station we built was Sizewell B. Yes we are starting to build more but it could realistically be 20 years before any are fully operational.

 

And as the UNITED NATIONS have come out and said green house gases have had an impact on global warming I will go along with them, I know as a conspiracy theorist you will not, but as long as you can find one discerning voice you will stick with your position. I on the other hand will go along with the majority view.

[Dizzy]

One good thing about the older nuclear power stations Lt K is that they are still keeping people in well paid jobs   

[observer]

Perhaps a modern version of "bread and games" then, from Liebour ?!

[Lt Kije]

I agree Dizzy just wish they were still owned by our government.

[observer]

Would EU rules allow it?!

[Lt Kije]

Yes, Obs they used to be State run before EDF bought them

[asperity]

Lt Kije, I don't know how high your energy bills are, but my latest bill showed that I am only using 56% as much energy as I was 12 months ago (there are a couple of reasons for that but I won't go into them here), but nevertheless they have put UP my direct debit payment by £6.00 a month!! The cost of gas, coal and nuclear hasn't gone up by that much but the Renewables Obligation (look it up) is going up all the time.

 

As for the UN saying that (so called) greenhouse gasses are causing global warming well  - WHAT global warming? Global temperatures have been level for over 15 years, the arctic ice extent is at an average level, antarctic ice is increasing every year, hurricane activity is at an historical minimum, droughts are below average, floods are below average, the list goes on. The UN body the IPCC is struggling to find justification for its existence and governments around the world are slowly waking up to the real worl reality. They have been conned. WE HAVE BEEN CONNED!!

[observer]

I know they were "state run" Kije, before the Tories privatised them; but I was thinking about the argument over the Post Office privatisation, which seemed to imply the EU had rules on these matters now?

[Lt Kije]

How can they as EDF who now own them is partially owned by the French government

[observer]

Which just adds to the confusion !

[Lt Kije]

Only to someone who is trying to muddy the waters  

[asperity]

From the DECC:

 

Wholesale gas and electricity costs currently make up the largest proportion of an average household energy bill–around 47% in 2013.Transmission,distribution and metering costs account for 20%, other supplier costs and margins account for 19% and VAT 5%. By contrast, the costs of energy and climate change policies are estimated to represent around 9% (or around £112) of the same bill.

 

Don't try and tell me that 9% isn't significant Lt Kije!!

[observer]

Perhaps we could use the savings on bills, to buy in a load of candles, torches and a generator etc?!

[Evil Sid]

Sure there was something on the news the other day about the rate of "global warming" slowing down and that quite a lot of the carbon pollution produced in the world was from cooking fires on the african continent.

The smoke from these fires produce a cloud of soot that drifts onto the glaciers turning them "black" and making them melt quicker due to a faster heat transfer from sunlight that would normally be reflected. (preferred fuel seemed to be cow fertiliser which apparently produces marginally less carbon than wood which is the second most preferred fuel) (maybe they got the idea for the fuel from our government as they seem to produce a fair amount)    

[asperity]

When the alarmists say "carbon" they mean carbon dioxide which is not a pollutant, in fact it's a trace gas that is vital for life on earth as plants need it to survive. The reason they call it "carbon" is because it conjures up a vision of a black, dirty pollutant instead of the invisible gas which it is. And which we all produce when we breathe out!!

[Davy51]

I think it was actually somewhere  in northern India Baz  where that particular cooking method is widespread...it said something about whatever outfit it was was trying to get the locals to use eco friendly methods. I don't know if the eco methods were being provided free but it will probably take years to get them all thinking green .

[Davy51]

It  just highlights what most people knew when it was first proposed ,but privatisation of gas & electricity  really has cost the British people dearly & is probably one of the main reasons why the economy is being stifled  because  its price is severely reducing the disposable income of every family in the land.

 

Gas & electricity should have been kept as a not for profit utility.