The U.K. 2022

MaizieD

Here is Maitlis's full lecture. Well worth watching.

Starts at about 20 minutes in.

t.co/su01IvU7B9

Thanks for the link Maizie. It's about time someone spoke out but she will be little reported, I fear.

I would hope that after the past few years, what with pandemic, drought and war in Europe, 'being prepared' might be far more of a vote winner than people might think.

No foresight or planning whatsoever everything is “for today” or catching up from yesterday. If it doesn’t win votes it doesn’t happen, privatization has cost the country dear because the private operators are much smarter than the government. That’s just a true for utilities a d council services as it is for energy production.

volver

Yes, you are right. There was no energy crisis before the invasion of Ukraine. But had someone had the foresight to see that we needed capacity to cope with shocks like Ukraine, the impact of the gas shortage would be less and we wouldn't be facing an 80% hike in our gas prices tomorrow. But the short term perspective of this government doesn't do "planning". Storage is needed, because we're about to run out. A bit of strategic thinking on behalf of the people who set our energy strategy would have been a good thing.

They closed Rough in 2017 and now they are working out how to reopen it because we need it.

Oh, I was just about to post about Rough

The thing that is striking me about all this is our dreadful tendency to short termism and seeming inability to prepare adequately for emergencies of any sort. We saw it with the degradation of our 'emergency' PPE stocks at the start of the Covid pandemic, we see it with inadequate control over our water suppliers (who'd have though that, despite all the warnings of climate change, we'd ever have a serious drought in the UK, so why bother to build new reservoirs and mend leaks?) and now we see it with gas.

Apart from a quick glance at the BBC website and few times each week, I stopped watching MSM shortly after the covid pandemic started. It's so less stressful avoiding the news.

Yes, you are right. There was no energy crisis before the invasion of Ukraine. But had someone had the foresight to see that we needed capacity to cope with shocks like Ukraine, the impact of the gas shortage would be less and we wouldn't be facing an 80% hike in our gas prices tomorrow. But the short term perspective of this government doesn't do "planning". Storage is needed, because we're about to run out. A bit of strategic thinking on behalf of the people who set our energy strategy would have been a good thing.

They closed Rough in 2017 and now they are working out how to reopen it because we need it.

This from the BBC, so I don’t think the theory that Ukraine was the start of price increases holds up

“Gas and electricity producers raised their prices so rapidly in 2021 that many energy suppliers collapsed.”

It’s a fact that there was no energy crisis before Ukraine

In fairness most of the UKs gas is home produced or supplied by friendly countries so mostly storage is not needed, in any case the amount of storage needed for say a months supply would be massive, it’s not like coal where you just heap it up.

The policy of having a free market energy policy where producers or generators charge whatever they can get for energy that’s causing the price spike. The government has been reaping billions from offshore production licences for decades now its pay back time.

?

“Robbie Gibb, who is on the board of the BBC is also the brother of Nick Gibb, a Tory MP. Interestingly, he also chaired the BBC debates on the EU at the time of the referendum campaign. No wonder leave won. It's all so corrupt.”

Yes

Can I add some ??s to yours, Oldnproud

volver

^Just to clarify, the current energy crisis is caused by tyranny in Russia invading Ukraine.^

No it isn't.

I said this on a thread earlier this week. It is caused by the UK's reliance on gas and the removal of the essential gas storage capacity that would have meant we had a buffer. (Blame that on Truss, BTW) It is caused by the lack of investment in green power sources, which are something like 7 times cheaper than gas. Its caused by the UK taking part in the international fuel markets and selling any power we generate cheaply, then buying it back for loads of money. Its caused by a lack of investment in insulating homes in the UK.

If we had a coherent energy strategy, we could better withstand the knocks of such things as the Ukraine War.

????

Just to clarify, the current energy crisis is caused by tyranny in Russia invading Ukraine.

No it isn't.

I said this on a thread earlier this week. It is caused by the UK's reliance on gas and the removal of the essential gas storage capacity that would have meant we had a buffer. (Blame that on Truss, BTW) It is caused by the lack of investment in green power sources, which are something like 7 times cheaper than gas. Its caused by the UK taking part in the international fuel markets and selling any power we generate cheaply, then buying it back for loads of money. Its caused by a lack of investment in insulating homes in the UK.

If we had a coherent energy strategy, we could better withstand the knocks of such things as the Ukraine War.

Sleaze hasn’t gone away in the Tory party.

For £3000 a pop you can get access to Kwai Kwarteng and other senior ministers.

It’s funny how others choose to interpret what is written

Just to clarify, the current energy crisis is caused by tyranny in Russia invading Ukraine. There may be controversy how that is handled but nobody in the UK caused it.

If Corbyn had not been so useless and inept Labour could well have won against May, sitting on the fence is not a good way to win anything.

I detest Johnson, we could have had a Labour government so easily, the Brexit deal would certainly more beneficial to the UK, wether Covid and the energy crisis would be handled better I have no idea.

Katie59

It’s not tyranny within the UK that is the current problem currently, the west has allowed itself to become reliant on tyranny in China and Russia. As has been said most nations in Europe have PR, they are probably more affected by the current crisis, France is probably the exception with its own energy.
Do we blame Johnson or Corbyn, for todays politics, if Corbyn had campaigned against Brexit, May could easily have lost the election, politics would be very different today, wether it would be better or worse is speculation.

To summarise this:

Its not the UK Government's fault is the Russians and the Chinese.

Its not the UK Government's fault, the EU governments are just as bad. (although they are not really, as proved lower in the thread)

Its not Johnson's fault, its Corbyn's.

Its not Johnson's fault, its May's.

Everybody but Johnson and the Tories.

There was a caller to LBC who was saying what a good PM Johnson was and how she wanted him back. When pressed, her reasons were that he didn't cry when he resigned and he didn't start the pandemic. again.

Will people never take responsibility for things and see the world for what it is?

Every German employed or unemployed citizen will receive 300€ for energy costs in their September wages . It,ll be taxed
OAP,s receive nothing at all .

Talking about Maitlis and the BBC.

I have long thought that the BBC fails to give a proper balanced view.

As Maitlis said, they would find 15 economists in 5 minutes to give strong doubts about Brexit and then take 5 hours to find one who supported Brexit.

I suspect that is why they continually rolled on Farage. Easy option to show balance?
I see that Robbie Gibbs who acts as the arbiter of impartiality in the BBC, gave £400K to the Tory party.

There you go. A lot less than we will be paying.
www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-15/germans-to-pay-more-2-4-euro-cents-for-gas-amid-curbed-supplies

I can’t find anything more recent than March.

There may be more up to date published.

Info in Guardian article on energy crisis 31/1/2022.
Sorry can’t do links on iPad.

I can’t find anything up to date that details what Germany is doing to subsidize domestic consumers.
Does anyone have direct knowledge.

I understood Katie59 that the UK was the least dependent on imported energy than the average of European countries. The problem is world wholesale prices.

I do think the LP should have campaigned against Brexit at the last election. Do I think they would have won? No because there was such a vitriolic campaign against Corbyn.

Where Britain stands in the energy crisis is that most European countries have organised support to their population to cope with the financial hit whereas Britain has not.

It’s not tyranny within the UK that is the current problem currently, the west has allowed itself to become reliant on tyranny in China and Russia. As has been said most nations in Europe have PR, they are probably more affected by the current crisis, France is probably the exception with its own energy.
Do we blame Johnson or Corbyn, for todays politics, if Corbyn had campaigned against Brexit, May could easily have lost the election, politics would be very different today, wether it would be better or worse is speculation.