“Factories will be shut because energy costs are too high.”
In the age of vibe politics, it’s easy to dismiss the opinion of an abrasive billionaire tax exile.
But if you swap Jim Ratcliffe for Mick Lynch , millions of people would sit up and listen.
This is de-industrialisation. This is job destruction. And it's happening on a Labour government's watch.
People like Bridget Phillipson want to invalidate Jim Ratcliffe’s points on energy policy simply because of who he is.
It’s fine if you think he’s a tosser.
But he’s right.
Address his points please.
Jim Ratcliffe slams Labour's energy policy as Ineos mothballs vital chemicals plants due to 'ridiculously high' UK gas prices trib.al/luHTbDB
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The PM's words will likely re-open the debate around zonal pricing.
Will Burnham have the nerve to offer cheaper energy to certain regions at the expense of higher prices in others?
I'd like to see him grasp the nettle.
Cheap energy is a just reward for hosting infrastructure. It might also enable energy-intensive growth zones, precisely where they are most needed.
Expensive energy meanwhile is a clear signal that your region needs to support more generation capacity and infrastructure.
We're putting power into communities across Britain by backing them to build and control their own clean energy supply.
That's good for bills, good for local economies and good for tackling the climate crisis.
theguardian.com/commentisfre…
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Yes, we should rename the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to something more appropriate...
How about the Department for Excuses and Distractions?
Britain is in the grip of a cost of living crisis that comes, more than anything else, from expensive energy.
The Energy Department should be laser-focused on bringing down its cost; and its name should reflect, rather than deflect, that mission.
businessgreen.com/news/45359…
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Four years after Russia's invasion of Ukraine nearly broke the UK's public finances, we are still terribly exposed to volatile oil and gas prices.
And it's all negative.
Two solutions:
1. Accelerate electrification. Drop the levies on electricity that inflate the running costs of heat pumps. Otherwise the nation will continue to rely on boilers needing gas from a market dominated by Putin / Netanyahu / the IRGC.
2. Expand drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea. Like it or now, this will cushion our finances as we build a more resilient system. It's also how Norway have paved their way to a cheap, clean future.
Exclusive: UK household energy bills are forecast to jump *by about 25%* in January as the Iran war drives up gas and electricity prices, according to analysis by Bloomberg Economics
The coming price spike means UK inflation could climb above 4% next year, double the BoE target, the analysis finds
The Ofgem energy price cap is expected to rise by about £427 to around £2,150 a year for the average household, according to the forecasts
This would push bills close to the £2,500 cap brought in by the government following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022
It’s a major threat to Andy Burnham’s pledge to be the cost-of-living prime minister
Story by @EamonFarhat: bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
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Note to DESNZ, following NAO report today:
ANYBODY 👏 CAN DECARBONISE 👏 ELECTRICITY GENERATION
Just contract tons of wind farms, more than you need, and pay them even if you can't use their energy.
It's time to stop patting ourselves on the back.
To decarbonise *cheaply* is the challenge.
And Britain currently has the highest industrial electricity prices in the developed world.
WHY?
Lots of reasons. Here is one:
We are compensating energy generators for power our infrastructure cannot handle, instead of getting it to consumers.
By 2030, these 'constraint' payments will cost the billpayer £8bn.
WHAT TO DO?
1. Stop signing contracts to generate energy we can't use.
Energy generators don't mind the current set-up. They'll sign contracts to throw energy away all day. Discipline from DESNZ please.
2. Do whatever it takes to get infrastructure built. Reform to planning will upset some people. Leaving it as is will cost all of us.
nao.org.uk/press-releases/de…
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As we develop campaigns at @lfg_uk , we talk to as many bright minds as possible.
In energy, there is none brighter than @g__j , CEO of Octopus Energy.
I've known Greg for a decade. I've seen what a phenomenal entrepreneur he is at close quarters.
So it was a privilege to hear his thoughts on how the UK has lumbered itself with high energy prices.
There is. A way. Out.
If you want to better understand one of the UK's biggest problems, do have a listen.
"Our current system reminds me of the Soviet Union."
@g__j Octopus Energy CEO's verdict on Britain's electricity market
Watch the full discussion now!
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Wanna understand how Britain functions?
Come to this event next week.
Morgan McSweeney. LFG OFF THE RECORD.
Event 1. 15th September. Soho.
@lawrencenewport speaking off the record with the man behind one of the largest electoral victories in modern British history.
Tickets are ALREADY selling out.
General sale NOW.
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Reminds me of when a rapper once affiliated to the Wu-Tang Clan was reported to have severed own penis before jumping from a Hollywood balcony.
The injured man won widespread sympathy.
Wu Tang released the following statement:
"Don't believe the hype, this motherfucker ain't got shit to do with the Wu-Tang Clan"
Imagine he too was "surprised".
Harry and Meghan 'surprised' by King's letter making clear they remain non-working royals bbc.in/4A5Y920
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.@lfg_uk polled Labour voters and listened to people in Ed Miliband's constituency – Burnham is hitting the right note here.
New oil fields may not be something to sing and dance about but for a country in an economic emergency, it's an economic exigency.
NEW: Andy Burnham says he told Donald Trump the UK cannot “ignore” the oil in the North Sea when “people are struggling,” and that he’ll take a “pragmatic approach” as PM
That appears to confirm Burnham is looking at more drilling in the North Sea, as Trump said last night (and as Bloomberg reported a couple of weeks back)
“I indicated in the phone call that we had a week last Monday that I would take a pragmatic approach when it comes to the North Sea, and that is my intention as we go forward from here,” Burnham says
“There is a resource there. When people are struggling, we can’t ignore that. Hence, me indicating that to the president”
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Factories are the canaries in Britain's economic coalmine.
This sugar factory survived
➡️Two World Wars
➡️Sugar Rationing
➡️A pandemic
➡️Furlough
But .... it could NOT survive British electricity prices.
It is TIME for the government to GET REAL.
This is no longer rare.
The Government MUST adopt the LFG EMERGENCY ENERGY BILL. ⬇️
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BREAKING: wind fat cat supports wind gravy train
This is becoming normalised - the misrepresentation of Britain’s green energy progress, the exaggeration of our grid issues.
This guy needs to do his homework, the cost of turning windmills off for a tiny percentage of the time is overwhelmed by the economic benefit - the rest of the time. It’s vital to see the whole picture not just the selected snapshot - lies, damn lies and statistics…..
And if there’s one thing that can bring bills down which remains in-explicably not done by government, despite Ed Miliband pretending that he has - it’s ‘breaking the link’ - so that we no longer pay gas prices for our own green energy. This will knock billions off our bills every year.
How about getting behind that @hodsonwill ?
thetimes.com/uk/environment/…
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Britain has some of the highest electricity prices in the world.
We need to sort this problem now or become an economic backwater forever.
Here's how:
Britain is in an Energy Emergency.
But the Government is FAILING TO ACT. They have no plan, no idea what to do, and they’re leaving us exposed.
So today we’re launching The LFG Emergency Energy Bill to SAVE OUR INDUSTRIES and GET BILLS DOWN
Here’s how it would get bills down IMMEDIATELY:
1️⃣ SCRAP all levies on energy bills. These stealth taxes on the British people are unnecessarily hiking up their bills by hundreds of pounds.
2️⃣ REOPEN THE NORTH SEA, and directly deploy the tax revenue generated to GET BILLS DOWN.
3️⃣ Stop new CfD contracts and launch an investigation into the system that signed them off. Last year, billpayers paid £1.5 billion for big renewable corporations to THROW ENERGY AWAY. By 2030, it’ll be £8 billion. The existing settlement is a national scandal.
4️⃣ Scrap Clean Power 2030 targets. These needless constraints have pushed civil servants to procure wind at any cost – and at huge expense to the British people.
5️⃣ DITCH the duties of energy regulators, NESO and Ofgem, towards Net Zero goals, so their only focus is to MINIMISE ENERGY COSTS, subject to security of supply.
6️⃣ Hold auctions for connecting to the grid, and directly deploy the revenue generated to GET BILLS DOWN
Our Emergency Energy Bill has cross-party support. It is ready to PASS IMMEDIATELY. It does what governments for the past 20 years didn’t – it takes RADICAL ACTION to SAVE OUR INDUSTRIES and GET BILLS DOWN.
There’s no excuse. Last week, the US suspended access to some of the world’s leading frontier AI models. Britain is vulnerable - and our energy prices are strangling our national security. We cannot afford to be at the mercy of other countries or events beyond our control any longer.
The Government needs to GET BILLS DOWN NOW or explain why they’re still letting this emergency destroy our future.
Force Westminster to ACT. Send our Bill to your local MP and sign our letter to the Prime Minister and Ed Miliband. GET BILLS DOWN, NOW!
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