GET US OUT OF HERE

Energy wise we are in a mess, the privatised for dividend profit model for the energy sector, water and the railways has failed. The whole process of privatisation which was begun under Thatcher and Major has delivered fat dividends and bonuses for the directors, chief executives and shareholders and filled the coffers of the City, but little else for anyone else. 

We now collectively face a real crisis, which the current and future inhabitants of 10 Downing Street are incapable ( intellectually or otherwise ) of dealing with. An average energy ( according to Cornwall Insight ) was £1,277 last year, this will rise to £3,549 this year, with energy bills to rise again in 2023, with bills of £500 a month bring forecast. 

Fixing the immediate crisis of crippling bills which are going to plunger millions into dire fuel poverty ( basically any household with an in one of less than 45,000 according to the Chancellor recently ) is going to be difficult. 

There are some immediate relatively quick options available, start by cutting or reducing fuel duty and VAT on energy, along with raising the threshold for income tax for the lower tax bands, that might deliver more significant relief than handouts and help people out in the more immediate and medium term. 

We also need to be creative when it comes to making savings in energy use, in Germany, a range of energy saving measures are to be brought in from September:

We need to address the short term crisis which is upon us and also deal with the longer term problems that relate to the fundamentally flawed water that energy, utilities and the railways are currently run. 

The Conservatives handouts won’t really help or deal with the longer or medium term problems, nether will the Party formerly known as New Labour’s proposed freeze in energy prices ( which could cost about £60 billion pounds a year ) on a par with the Covid pandemic furlough scheme. 

In recent years, most Westminster Government’s have happily kicked the can down the road, when it comes to better insulation of our houses and individual or the development local community based community beneficial energy generation schemes whether via the use of solar panels or other options.

In September 1997, New Labour under pressure from the housing companies pulled proposals to increase insulation in all new build houses from the housing bill. More recently David Cameron and the Lib Dems changed the feed in tariffs for solar panels, which pulled the rug from under that part of the energy sector. 

We cannot go on as we are, the privatisation of state asserts and leaving it to the alleged free market has failed, the sooner we wake up to this reality the sooner we can find our way out of this mess. The large dividend profit driven energy monopolies, the water companies ( in England ) and the railway franchises need to be run on a not for dividend profit basis and at arms length from Westminster and the City of London.