Who will be our next Conservative leader? Who is right for the job?

Wyllow3

Glad the Guardian has raised it then!

wonder why ??? weren't raised when it was first thought up?
www.gov.uk/government/publications/biomass-strategy

I didn’t agree with it last year.

Just had this vague hope that Labour were sincere in their climate crisis strategy.

The biomass plan, along with now having to import all steel, and rely on other countries who use fossil fuels just moves the problem elsewhere.

We should have kept North Sea gas and oil exploration and even look at mining clean coal until such time the U.K. was self sufficient in renewables.

I didn’t know what you meant by ’plus Milliband’.

I like the idea of nationalised energy (although I’m not sure that the new company goes as far as that). I think that the state should provide the basics, such as energy, water, healthcare, education, infrastructure (and housing for those who want it) with everyone paying in according to their ability to do so. When those bases are covered people should keep the remainder of their income or savings to do with as we please. I’m not in favour of ‘equality’ in the sense of everyone having the same, but a rich country should not have working people being hungry, cold or sick for want of money to pay for others to be rich.

Energy prices, rents, and to some extent healthcare are areas which have moved further from being ’rights’ to being commodities bought and sold to those who can afford them, with those who can’t being left to struggle, and we’ve seen what happened when water was privatised and left to the mercy of shareholders’ greed.

I’m not sure what Milliband’s plans are, specifically, but if they aren’t about lining the pockets of shareholders and making ‘ordinary people’ reliant on handouts to pay energy bills it’s ok with me.

Doodledogfair point. I did add *plus Milliband *…... meaning of course the huge costs involved in what could be one of the biggest flops in recent history. I realise that cheap sustainable energy is the way forward but I don’t feel instinctively this government will provide it. I would like to think otherwise.

ronib

Doodledog one possible reason for rising prices is of course the wars being fought in Ukraine and Israel with the knock on in energy price rises. Plus Milliband.
Annoyingly poor people will always struggle.

Yes, of course, but you were asked about the government's first 100 days, and replied that you didn't like the direction of travel. When pressed again about what this meant you quoted things you are now saying happened because of foreign wars.

What are you saying you don't like about how the government has affected the direction of travel in the first 100 days?

Glad the Guardian has raised it then!

wonder why ??? weren't raised when it was first thought up?
www.gov.uk/government/publications/biomass-strategy

It looks like Labour have not understood the implications of Sunak’s plan, but gone ahead and published it. They need to look again at the biomass option, which doesn’t sound viable to a non expert like me?

I dont understand it.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202410/medium-799507-img-1082.png https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202410/medium-610978-img-1083.png https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202410/medium-99022-img-1084.png

This is an interesting piece from the Guardian

I can't think of a thread for ages voicing concerns on climate change.

Good that its actually on the agenda

MaizieD well I keep reading about this new fangled Great British Energy - bit of a misnomer perhaps?

We have to have a long term strategy for renewable energy. Can’t rely on foreign oil in the future.

I think Milliband is implementing a whole new renewable energy policy

What makes you think that, ronib?

vegansrock I think Milliband is implementing a whole new renewable energy policy and am not an expert at all in this field, but all I know is that energy is very expensive and likely to remain so for some time.

How is Miliband responsible for rising prices. Let’s forget about Liz Truss and co

The hospital builds were de facto cancelled before the elections.
www.libdems.org.uk/news/article/40-new-hospitals-the-governments-broken-promise

(There is a thread on workers rights describing the new laws and consequences)

Doodledog one possible reason for rising prices is of course the wars being fought in Ukraine and Israel with the knock on in energy price rises. Plus Milliband.
Annoyingly poor people will always struggle.

Ok, so out of that lot you don't know if the energy policy will (or won't) work, it's not Labour's fault that the NHS is in crisis, workers' rights might do something unspecified, and it seems to you that prices will rise (because of what?) so poor people will struggle.

Right.

Doodledog seems to me that families on average and below average incomes will struggle financially even more under Labour due to rising prices across the board. Labour has rushed energy policy through from day one and I don’t know how well it will work. Come to think of it, no one knows. The NHS has never been worse. Gps seem unable to correct or diagnose illnesses which they knew about 10 years ago. This is increasing the work load in A&E. Obviously not the fault of Labour but stopping hospital rebuilds won’t help. Angela Rayner might have good intentions but workers’ rights will have unintended consequences. Etc

What is wrong with the direction of travel? That’s very vague and doesn’t suggest that you can point to anything specific.

Iam64 The direction of travel feels wrong. Let’s wait and see what the budget brings.

The cost of living crisis including food and energy has been growing over a long period. Are you suggesting this government could have turned things round in 100 days ronib? What you have liked the previous and current government to do

Yes, it will be difficult given the state of the country nowadays, but I do believe that the new government wants to make things better for everyone, and is not just saying so. They won’t be able to do everything they want to do in one parliament, and the risk is that people’s short/sightedness will mean they don’t get a second. Both the Tories and (worse) Reform would then unravel everything they do get done, and we’d go back to being an unfair and unequal society.. Still, we have five years to go, which is a long time in politics.

Doodledog. I don’t share your optimism. The cost of living has gone through the roof and energy prices are extremely expensive with no sign of improvement.
My local community has arranged swaps weekends of specific goods so self help at a local level is a good initiative.

fancythat

ronib

Iam64 The jury is out on this government’s first 100 days.

really? The Labour poll ratings are dreadful are they not?

They are still in for the next five years, whatever the press and media do to try to spike their guns.

ronib, I also hope for more for the poorest sections of society (of all ages) than they've been getting for the past ages. I think that there is now a chance that they might get it, even though there will be more squeals from people like my friends who think they have had something taken from them.

I wonder if the DM, Express, Telegraph will back a candidate (direct or subtle).