Vocal Voices

..........says David Cameron



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/pers ... mpers.html

A little bit patronising, coming from someone whose energy bills are paid for by the taxpayer, but the basic idea is reasonably sound.

There are people, too many, with the heating cranked up so that they can wander round in tee shirts and shorts. My sister's family is one of them.

However, where does this energy savng stop? Most of us, I suspect, already do our level best to keep costs down.

I have DG, cavity wall insulation, the max insulation in the roof and energy bulbs. I do wear a jumper in the house, as well as thick training bottoms and socks and slippers. How far should I go before Dave thinks that I have done enough? Will a Parka, bobble hat, gloves with the finger tips cut off, Oxford scarf, long-Johns under ski pants and Uggs do the trick, or would that be a bit OTT?

A scandalous comment from Cameron's spokesman, which really demonstrates the contempt in which he and his ilk holds the ordinary citizen.

It totally side-lines those in our society who are chronically ill, who are trying to bring up little children, who are low-paid or out of work, who need heating and warmth to survive.

There needs to be a total rethink in this country regarding the provision of a basic necessity like energy, which should be fairly and affordably priced. Prevarication by successive governments, over-reliance on European distribution, lack of domestic storage and the run-down of coal mining in this country have led us to the position we are now in - potential blackouts this winter. Politicians need to be held to account.

The cost of a nuclear power station is £14bn*. The cost of the first phase of the HS2 vanity project is £21bn** - yes, that's just for the Phase 1 Birmingham line.
I know which I'd rather have ...


* http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... years.html
** http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24011403

We have found that the secret about keeping warm is to to keep on the move doing something.
It doesn't have to be anything strenuous - even something like sewing or knitting is sufficient.

Lie back and relax and you find yourself turning up the thermostat another two or three degrees.

I'm not kidding.

Actually energy is a scarce resource. Always has been and always will be. It is only the current generation who have suddenly decided that there are "rights" that they "must" be entitled to.

It appears that the generations of people who saw us through the two largest wars this planet has seen, that would have been "ashamed" to expect that someone else paid their way in the world, are long, long, gone.

Whilst renewable energy is significantly cheaper to generate than any other, it is certainly not "free" and it sure as hell is not a "right". Nuclear power is the most expensive power that you can generate. I know this because one of my college studies was on nuclear power. Were the UK to transition to 100% nuclear power overnight, your electric fuel bills would rise significantly and that's just the running costs, forget the infrastructure build and maintenance costs.

Then what do we do in 40 years when the reactors reach their working life? Do what we have done today and say "They've got another 20 years"?

The biggest fault I see in this is lack of control on price rises against material and wage costs. Then again, if you listen to the energy companies, they only make around 5% profit. The only reason they can survive on 5% profit is because they are so large. You try running a business on 5% profit and living on it. Oh and on that 5% profit they have already paid 25% taxes....

If we want to control our energy costs, that is in our power. But we have to "invest" in the technologies to do it. Something we won't do. Solar electricity, Solar hot water, ground spike heating with a heat pump. They're all there.

Why don't people do it? Well because, over the long run, it costs them money NOW and Electricity and Gas are cheaper.

Then people complain about rising energy costs.

Whilst I recognise that many people live in situations where they cannot mitigate their energy costs alone and that some of these are very close to their income line, I also recognise that nobody is interested in working together with their community to create community energy projects which reduce their energy bills.

Oh and what we must also recognise is that if we go for community energy projects and reduce the energy we take from the grid, then when we do take energy from the gird, it will cost more. Those who do not mitigate their energy costs will face the full burden of the energy price rises.

Such is economics. The grid has to be paid for. The less of us who pay, the more it costs. The cost of the grid does not magically reduce just because we want to use less energy.

The single biggest thing the UK could do to avert higher energy costs is to part nationalise the energy companies and then provide infrastructure for them against profits coming back. That would put them on a level playing field with all of these competitor companies which are swallowing up EU power nets.

And I HATE nationalisation.

I'm switching to the Co-op; currently we are with British Gas but not for much longer!

Ossie I agree with your post 100%

It just shows how out of touch with the average person this government really are

im with npower
but to be truthfull they all rise there prices altho coop seems good at the moment
lets hope the sun shines all winter
at the end of the day we have to pay the bill
cant understand famillies who have the heating on full
and wear tee shirts either WM
i wear thick cardies and like a hotwater bottle
and i put my pretend log burning on so it looks warm

It is not quite so much about the price or energy generation, as such, it is about what was said and the thought process behind it.

Had the PM said "If you are fat or obese you should eat less" there would have been outrage. The usual suspects would have been on every TV station demanding resignations, heads on stakes and public inquiries.

But telling those in or on the verge of energy poverty to wrap up warm when indoors hardly gets a mention.

Third time lucky!
Increase in prices? Wear an extra jumper and socks, first recommended by B'Liar if I remember rightly. Can we expect to see MP's in mufflers and wooly hats in the House of Commons? I doubt it, the central heating will still be on full belt when the weather demands in Westminster as will Council offices. And those MP's won't feel the pain, their £10,000 a year increase in their salaries will cover any extra expense.