The government says it wants to promote growth. Growth is one of the Prime Minister’s five aims. The latest budget confirming high tax rises on business will not help pursue this aim. I will write a series of pieces over the weeks ahead containing proposals for regulatory and tax change that could assist growth.
The car industry is under pressure from the wish of the government to ban the sales of new diesel and petrol cars from 2030. This is a bad idea which will mean premature closure of petrol and diesel car and van making facilities here, with more car companies taking their investment into diesel, petrol and hybrid elsewhere where there is no such time limit on the sales of the products. This ban should be lifted.
The government thinks an early ban will deliver more investment in all electric vehicles. This is proving difficult to land, with the car industry wanting to see established battery making lines here first whilst those considering battery investment want orders from car companies to make their big investment worthwhile.
They all need more evidence of the wish of many consumers to trade in old diesels and petrol vehicles for all battery models. I continue to meet many people who think the current electric cars have too short a range, are difficult to recharge and too expensive. Our generating and grid capacity is not up to most of us switching to electric vehicles.
The government needs to work with the industry to see what improvements can be made in the electric offerings to make them more attractive to more people. They need a more realistic timetable for expanding the grid and reliable power generation to service more electric cars. A 2030 ban is a very bad idea.
April 4, 2023
Good morning.
The government cannot do anything as it has signed up to various agreements and treaties.
The government may want this and that but, it needs to ask itself one simple question. What does the market want ?
The market wants afordable, reliable energy. It wants good transport and communication links.
The market wants less regulation and taxation.
Everything that the market wants and is market led is ususally a success. Everything that is State sanctioned and mandated is a failure.
It is not difficult.
April 4, 2023
Sir John
I seem to be having issues loggin onto your site via my PC and its webrowsers. I posted this and the above comment via my phone which has a different IP Address.
Have I been blocked and, is so, may I please ask for what reason ?
Thanks
April 4, 2023
Thank you. I seem to have been ‘unblocked’ now.
April 4, 2023
Mark, allow me to support your excellent comment. Only a government could ban our chief method of transport!
April 4, 2023
It is our chief method of transport, but it is far more. It is our greatest form of liberation and for this reason alone those in power see fit to wage war upon it. They first extract from it in taxation far more than they invest in the roads it runs on. They attempt to restrict its use with fines for perceived miss use, use in the wrong place or too enthusiastic use. They demonise it to hell and beyond. The power sick idiots are now trying to guide it’s future against market wishes, and having legislated it’s future they renege on the necessary infrastructure. It is a classic example of what happens when you let politicians control the market, unmitigated disaster.
April 4, 2023
Not just you. Iâve had similar issues for ages. Had to change user name and e mail.
Even so every time I post I have to enter name and e mail. Then comment disappearsâŠdoesnât âawait moderationâ. Reappears if JR publishes it.
But thenâŠme and computersâŠâŠđ”âđ«
April 4, 2023
I think actually that my horrid little machine doesnât ârememberâ properly. Getting old!
April 4, 2023
That is cookies not being saved. The EU saving us from anyone who isn’t them
April 4, 2023
Culbono
Likewise, been like it now for about 6 months.
April 4, 2023
Oh that happens to me as well. This time I was ‘blocked’
April 4, 2023
In contrast I find the Diary site works very well, noticing only in hindsight a few posts not passing moderation owing to not foreseeing an unintended meaning could be interpreted. Many posts are unchecked before sending as spelling errors also reveal. The onus is on us for those.
April 4, 2023
@Cuibono; Users have to allow the setting of cookies, otherwise your computer will not save your user name, nor email address, for use by our hosts website, this is opt-in – there is a little tick box. Also do not use your web browser in Private or similar mode as cookies are deleted when you close the site or browser.
April 4, 2023
@Mark B , @Cuibono Its a Google thing, the silent free âreCAPTCHAâ used by the site administrators doesnât like it when it canât also steel your data. âFreeâ doesnât mean âfreeâ when you are the commodity that will be monetised – thats the internet for you nowadays
April 4, 2023
@Ian B; I didn’t think our host website uses ‘reCAPTCHA’ anymore?
More likely is a client browser issue if you are using a URL starting http rather than https, that said I have never had a problem and I myself was still using the older (insecure) URL. Most browsers dislike insecure URLs these days, how they deal with them is anything from not loading the site to showing a crossed-out padlock in the address bar.
But you’re correct about the internet, users being a commodity that will be monetised, but that’s capitalism for you!. Back to politics!
April 4, 2023
Having the same intermittent problem
April 4, 2023
This government is the most anti growth government since the sixties.
This is of course the hidden agenda. Kill growth and you reduce carbon emissions
Addi g half a million annually doesn’t help though because without growth there’s no money to give the gimmigrant cohort.
Taxes are already at a penalising rate so I would refuse overtime.
If I worked Sunday, the government takes ÂŁ115 and I get ÂŁ85. Add in ÂŁ10 of fuel costs and you can see the problem
Agenda 30 is rigorously adhered to.
April 4, 2023
+1 Mark B.
This government wants to take away our freedom to travel.
It wants to remove cash and hence privacy.
It wants to give us digital ID’s to remove our independence.
It wants to force CBDC onto us for purposes of control.
It wants to shut down free speech with the Online Safety Bill.
It is no longer about what the people want, rather, what is wanted for ‘the great reset’, no longer a conspiracy theory!
April 4, 2023
Not sure but hasnât it already managed with IDs (by the back door)?
In May we will need photo IDs in order to vote.
Have they sorted postal voting?
April 4, 2023
@BOF +1
They want these controls because they also feed the likes of China and Russia with the same control – who are this Conservative Governments Masters?
April 4, 2023
BOF. I agree. What surprises me is how easily this has happened in a system where theoretically the voters can dump politicians at election time.
April 4, 2023
+1
April 4, 2023
Richy Sunak is a Weffy supporter. So is King Charles the Green.
April 4, 2023
The two main reasons this government deserves to be destroyed at the next election are that, firstly, it is socialist and internationalist instead of being conservative and patriotic, but secondly, even when it does happen to say the right things, it does NOTHING to put them into effect. Take the growth of the life-sciences sector, identified as one of those which the government wants to prioritise. Helping the UK’s life-sciences sector to grow would indeed be a very good idea, but in reality the government is doung the very OPPOSITE! It is forcing the large pharmaceutical companies to move OUT of the UK due to its cretinous increase in corporation tax (and hence AstraZeneca has now moved investment to Ireland, instead of Britain), and it is throttling the growth of our startups by failing to provide sufficient laboratory space.
A good and effective government is a PARTNER of the private sector, an INVESTOR in it and a SUPPORTER. Instead this government of moronic failures and traitors are just by-standers, looking on as British companies struggle and suffer, and doing NOTHING to actively help them. The shortage of lab space has been holding back small UK life-sciences companies for some years, but the government has failed to order the construction of a single square foot. Of course the private sector is building some lab space here and there, but not enough, as their focus is on profits and that is achieved by limiting supply so as to keep prices high.
So we have wealthy landlords but suffering life-science companies. Which do YOU think is more important to the long-term wealth of the nation? The government should have ordered the construction of a glut of lab space to ensure that our brilliant start-ups are not hindered. Instead they have set back impassively and watched while our companies have gone from being in the lead of the global science to being laggards, with all the lost economic opportunities which that entails. This is truly the worst Conservative government of all time.
April 4, 2023
Poor growth is nothing to do with brexit, then.
April 4, 2023
AhâŠat long last!
Youâre getting it!
Nothing whatsoever to do with Brexit!!
April 4, 2023
Poor growth has nothing to do with unprecedented covid lockdowns closing the whole economy for three months and then repeated stalls on business and the economy for a year, and impacts for 18 months?
April 4, 2023
NLH,
No it is government’s reluctant acceptance of Brexit, coupled with people like youself winging incessantly that their pot is half empty.
April 4, 2023
No, it’s not NLH. Didn’t you read Sir John’s post yesterday – Exports up 24%.
Do you work for the BBC?
April 4, 2023
@IanT; Didn’t you read the rebuttals to that figure, 24% up on the previous year, that was 24% down due to Covid, thus all we have done is simply recover from the production/distribution issues caused by the pandemic.
Do you work for GBNews? đ
April 4, 2023
Treaty law is inferior to nearly all other levels of law. The government is Sovereign and can do what it likes, including withdrawing from treaty obligations.
It could avoid that humiliation were it less inclined to rush to the table to sign anything presented, mostly, as Douglas Hurd said having signed the Maastricht Treaty, without reading them first.
April 4, 2023
+1
April 4, 2023
+1
April 4, 2023
+100
Exactly
And tearing up a treaty isnât difficult either!
April 4, 2023
Sorry, I forgot my manners this morning.
Sad to hear of the passing of Lord Lawson. My thoughts go out to his family and friends at this time.
May he Rest in peace.
April 4, 2023
@Mark B; Indeed, I can’t say that I necessarily agree with all of Lord Lawson’s politics but he was a conviction politician, for that I respect him and always listened top what he had to say. RIP.
April 4, 2023
Who is speaking for ‘the market’?
I don’t hear anybody speaking up in the general press we all read and see: the IoD no, the FPB no, FSB no (“powerful voices in UK government” – really?), the foreign big company CBI nope. I see and hear the unions every day. I read journalists telling us what we should believe and their version of reality and what ‘the people think is important’ according to their own agendas.
What have these organisations had to say about the electric vehicle revolution?
What have these organisations had to say about the next steps in vicarious liability we are told is hot-footing it to the Lords, a customer who the owner doesn’t know, has never met offends a member of their staff and that member of staff without any evidence or attempt to redress by the business owner can sue said business owner for hurt feelings?
What have these organisations had to say about 10% increases to pay differentials this April? When putting up prices reduces turnover.
What suggestions do these business leader organisations have to the public sector to help to redress peak delays getting through UK ports (because the authorities repeat this problem time and time again – yes even before Brexit although now, even with a sufficient warning [8 years is more than enough time] there were extra time checks there was no extra provision hired to speed them through? Why?)
What have these business leaders had to say about so called ‘Smart Motorways’ saying there are obstructions on motorways hours after they have been cleared and slowing all business traffic down to 40mph, then 50mph then 60mph then back down to 50mph, some gantries are changing every other one. The M6 J16 closed for months with no one working on it. Nothing said. NOTHING DONE.
April 5, 2023
The CBI claimed to campaigns on behalf of 190,000 businesses Guardian today.
The heck they do, how many of those 190,000 pay subs annually and how many of them fill in their questionnaires? All of these organisations have stopped campaigning recently and have stopped asking members questions or representing them on the news. I havenât seen a campaign for a long time.
April 4, 2023
+ 1 It is a dictatorship by the incompetent , certainly not what the public want or need.
The global climate scam must end, now!
April 4, 2023
‘The market’ may want growth but it won’t get significant growth, due to energy resource limits. Peak oil was probably in Nov. 2018. See, e.g. talks by Simon Michaux (Geological Survey of Finland.)
There’s some anthropogenic climate change underway but it’s an extremely complex and uncertain subject. Why focus too much on that if peak oil and natural gas, as identified by the geologists, place serious limits on human activity anyway? They also pose a more existential threat.
It’s possible electric cars will emit more particles than new diesel cars:
1) they weigh more and so there’s more tyre wear
2) there’s much more road wear; it rises rapidly with increasing vehicle weight (4th. power law).
JR ought to be aware of them both. I think Andrew Bridgen MP also mentioned 1) in the HoC.
FWIW I think there’s no satisfactory way forward for private road transport. But the least unsatisfactory one would probably include roles for cars with electric motors *and* cars with internal combustion engines.
April 4, 2023
The Leftist State is the blockage and it now controls everything even the Tories and our esteemed host which is an authoritarian world is catastrophic. The Tories fortunes are tied in with the fortunes of the Socialist State.
Some Tory MPs may put up some form of token resistance but in their hearts they have accepted their defeat. That defeat can be now seen across this nation and the entire web of laws now imposed upon all areas of life even the indoctrination of the young in education
RIP Mr Lawson. A proper Conservative
April 4, 2023
+1 DOM
April 4, 2023
I want to add our condolences to the family of Nigel Lawson. He was a substantial man who argued his case based on the evidence and regardless of who he was opposing. Not a ârespecter of menâ. Sometimes he was wrong (the ERM) and when he was he had the character to reverse his opinion, but mostly he was right; very right, and proved it – low taxation = growth and increased tax take.
April 4, 2023
He also had some very thoughtful views on climate Change – so the BBC called him a “Denier” and banned him.
April 4, 2023
Being banned by the BBC was his greatest achievement. Founding the GWPF was his second greatest.
April 4, 2023
Yes another subject on which he was âvery rightâ.
The BBC hates people who Marshall arguments because it can hardly ever rebuff them. It wants emotion emotion emotionâŠ.
Lawson was not really the emotional type.
I have to say that I thought the late great Alan Walters was more than his economic equal, as indeed is Sir John.
April 4, 2023
@DOM; “The Tories fortunes are tied in with the fortunes of the Socialist State.”
Not at all, any parties fortune is tied to the majority wishes of the electorate, it matters not if one is “proper”, something the hard left forgot in the 1980s, something the hard right seems to be forgetting in the 2020s.
April 6, 2023
Jerry +âŸïž
April 4, 2023
@DOM +1
April 4, 2023
+1
April 4, 2023
I always thought that Mr Lawson was a lovely man. So clever. A proper politician.
April 4, 2023
Well said DOM
April 4, 2023
Maybe the politicians think that the more quickly they can shovel these totalitarian laws through the less likely we will be able to push back effectively.
The goal = snap the trap shut as swiftly as possible.
No chance of escape.
April 4, 2023
+1
April 4, 2023
I live in Australia but my comment would stand if I lived in the UK. I am considering buying a new car the will give me 7-10 years useful life. My Toyota has now done 210,000km and it has broken down only once since I bought it 190,000km ago – dead battery. I remember the absurdity of governments forcing us all to throw away incandescent light bulbs and replace them with fluorescent bulbs, only within a few years to be forced to throw those away in favour of LED lights. So I fully expect the government to continue getting its energy policies wrong.
The key issues affecting my choice are:
1) Immaturity of EV technology, particularly batteries. Introduction of large improvements after my purchase will have a major effect on the useful life of my car and its sale value.
2) Government regulation and taxes. Should I wait for it to settle?
a) If the uptake of electric vehicles is too slow for the government will it introduce tax incentives? Will incentives in place be removed? Is it worth getting a solar powered home charger or should I rely on public charging? Will charging be scheduled or liable to premium rates to charge at certain times if charging from the grid? If electricity becomes the sole source of power for homes and cars will its price be set by the government, creating a government monopoly supply of energy?
b) What is the likelihood of the government banning second hand petrol driven cars only a few years after my purchase, reducing its value to zero? New petrol cars are hugely more efficient than the cars of ten years ago, much cheaper than electric and they have all the modern extra goodies.
3) Will alternatives to electric power from the grid be developed in the next few years? If so, they could significantly reduce the resale value of my car.
4) What if the climate starts to cool as more than a few scientists believe it soon will, rendering the scramble to net zero redundant?
5) Industry may decide for itself rather than waiting for uncertainties in government policies to resolve. What would it do and when?
An additional consideration for me is that in Australia I can still buy a hybrid car but will they be banned by government, reducing their value to zero overnight? To me, since they are much more efficient than petrol cars, an electric car with its own reserve generator instead of relying on the grid or public charging makes a lot of sense.
April 6, 2023
Who are these âmore than a few scientistsâ believing in a cooling climate? And over what timescale would such a cooling occur?
April 4, 2023
Sir John as you have identified in your post it is the public that drives market forces and at this present moment of time the government is perceived to be out of step not only with us but also other countries which are rethinking their strategies towards reliance on electric vehicles. The majority of the population are not totally convinced as to the whys and wherefore that is driving us lemming like to the cliff edge of self destruction in so many areas of our lives due to this disease of NZ the government has inflicted upon us.
April 4, 2023
Consumers decide what they will accept to use and pay for. Govt, investors, manufacturers, suppliers and others have to comply with what consumers demand.
Those who donât produce nothing worth having and shrivel into increasing waste.
April 4, 2023
Bloke ; “Consumers decide what they will accept to use and pay for. Govt, investors, manufacturers, suppliers and others have to comply with what consumers demand.”
Not in a communist state, which is where we’re heading.
Bloke : “Consumers decide what they will accept to use and pay for. Govt, investors, manufacturers, suppliers and others have to comply with what consumers demand.”
Not in a communist state, which is where we’re heading with CAGW/NZ/CCA
April 4, 2023
Bloke,
Presently government, investors, manufacturers and supplier seem to be suffering from a lack of market research. A referendum on nett zero and its consequences might re-set the market for everyones benefit.
April 4, 2023
A lot of the problems that the people are facing has been bought about by the unsuitability of the vast number of members positioned on all sides of the house for the positions and responsibilities they hold.
They should all take a quite moment today and reflect on the life of Lord Lawson who sadly passed away yesterday. He was a people’s politician and above all a statesman but above all his own man. My sympathy and thoughts to his family. R I P
April 4, 2023
TT. I’m sad to hear of Lawson’s passing. Absolutely agree with the rest of your post, too.
April 4, 2023
Yes, Wanderer. Nigel Lawson was a practical politician with intellectual confidence. He was determined to get tax rates down but did so without blue-sky ideas. To cut income tax rates he abolished allowances for life assurance premiums and mortgage interest. To cut corporation tax rates, he slashed allowances for capital investment among much else, all against Treasury advice. The benefits soon followed. This year’s Chancellor has raised corporation tax rates by 6 percentage points but brought in relief for investment in machinery predicted to absorb half the increase. It is back to the 1970s.
April 4, 2023
This despite having read PPE though he originally was going to read maths which perhaps explains it. But why oh why did he get the ERM so wrong and push with Howe Mrs Thatcher into the ERM? Giving us the dire socialists Major, Blair, Brown, Cameron, May, BorisâŠSunak
He was of course right on the Climate Alarmism Con Trick and on tax cuts and tax simplifications. Though even Thatcher failed to cut the state back fully. They foolishly stuck with essentially state monopolies and no real choice or competition for most in education and healthcare. Though at least you got tax breaks on medical cover and no 12% IPT tax then.
April 4, 2023
+1
April 4, 2023
Well said TurboTerrier
April 4, 2023
turbo
Echo your thoughts, and certainly one of our better Chancellors.
April 4, 2023
Sir John
The 2030 ban is not a bad idea, it is totally crazy.
Oops. I forgot we have to lead the world.
This will impact very badly on the automotive jobs market in all its many sectors. Yet another urinating before flies open moment from this lamentable parliament.
April 4, 2023
When I lived in Thailand I was constantly amazed by the number of their initiatives that were global leaders. It always seemed to me to be hugely style over substance and being set up to fail.
Good is enough and often much cheaper
April 4, 2023
turboterrier
Yes indeed.
Just purchased a new diesel SUV, well not brand new, 4 months old, and at a 20% discount (so a little less depreciation) and it’s German.
Why, because I had held off for about 3 years waiting for a sensible sign that ICE vehicles were on their way out, because electric or hybrid were the answer, and clearly at the moment they are not.
Perhaps a small electric car for running around town would be ok as I can charge from home, but for the same purchase cost I have a 7 seat medium size SUV that will go anywhere, at any time, with a fill up (recharge time) of 5 mins, that will take the whole family on holiday in comfort and safety with all of our luggage.
No idea if I have made the right long term decision, but certainly for now it really was a no brainer, yes aware I will pay more tax due to government thinking, but I needed a solution for now, as last vehicle was 23 years old and whilst running ok at the time, it was starting to show its age, and trips to the South of France and Cornwall were becoming a concern.
Thus I reluctantly have helped the German economy, because of UK Government policy.
Just for info new diesel has about half the emissions of the old vehicle (smaller engine/more power), and does twice as many miles per gallon.
Thus good proven and improved technology, which is being penalised by a UK government !
Difficult to make it up really.
As one of your constituents, who’s money has now gone abroad, perhaps you can forward this onto the Chancellor JR !
April 4, 2023
….and here’s a blockage
”Europeâs transition to electric cars is under threat because of persisting shortages of lithium, the key battery component for powering electric vehicles, leaving the continent struggling to compete with China” ft.com
April 6, 2023
Thatâs why there are a number of developments happening around nickel-metal hydride batteries ⊠the type of batteries in your cordless lawnmower or in your hybrid car, but making them bigger but without making them overheat like Lithium-ion batteries.
Yes, there is some work done in (or around) universities, as incredible as it may seem to some here. Unfortunately (and possibly unsurprisingly) the work is not done in the UK.
April 4, 2023
Removing blockages to growth.
One big step to this is to stop all this net zero crap and stop treating the public as idiots
April 4, 2023
Mick
+++++ *
April 4, 2023
Mick, you sound like someone I could vote for.
April 4, 2023
On a day that a truly great Tory chancellor died and a government seeking to make it legal for an employee to sue their employer if a customer wears a t shirt that offends them.
Tory Pygmy politicians not fit to lace his boots.
April 4, 2023
Nigl ;
The “customer” could quite likely be a competitor, or an activist paid to cause trouble.
April 4, 2023
@Nigl +1
April 4, 2023
Will that apply to Just Stop Oil and alphabet soup T shirts?
Aren’t the wearer’s going to be liable?
April 4, 2023
I would think, given the gullible nature of the population and the potential savings, that there was a reasonable market for self charging hybrids. Self Charging hybrids are less reliant on infrastructure to charge and hybrids have as long a range as the driver requires.
If our government and the other parties in thrall to the CO2 demon really want us to adopt electric vehicles this is the answer. Comfort in knowing that you can get where you want to go whenever you want, savings on fuel and a warm fuzzy feeling from doing good.
April 4, 2023
NS,
Wise up, government does not want you to have the benefits of your last sentence.
April 4, 2023
Hybrids are a poor compromise, they use fossil fuel to charge their batteries, have a very short electrically powered range and when the battery is knackered the electric motor + battery become a dead weight for the underpowered petrol engine to haul around.
CO2 is a trace gas which accounts for just 0.04% of the atmosphere. Most of the Just Stop Oil or Insulate Britain activists have no scientific qualifications and just spout fear mongering codswallop.
Greta Thunberg’s doctorate is as valid as Barak Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize.
April 4, 2023
Please Sir John use your influence to end this madness of global warming. It has not been properly thought through and is wrecking the lives of voters throughout the land, not just in London. We depend on our cars and electric cars start at ÂŁ16,000, our houses are cold and dark, children are brought up to believe in an imminent disaster. And all this without any discussion as to the rights and wrongs of global warming. After one of the coldest winters for ages, the suicidal madness seems to have abated for the moment. Please let us have a proper, scientific discussion before even more damage is done.
April 4, 2023
+many
Yes I have often felt like falling onto my knees and begging.
âCanât you see whatâs happening?â
And as I said yesterday I literally do not understand it.
Is it âse sauve â? Do many of them REALLY believe in all the rubbish? Are they that dim? Is it simply money because if so they are pursuing fairy goldâŠdoing an Esau?..Mess of pottage?
Maybe it is just that we are expendable?
The most chilling conclusion of all.
It is like the film âStepford Wivesâ and a lot of âTwilight ZonesââŠsuddenly EVERYONE has been taken over by aliens.
April 4, 2023
I canât remember which wise person said recently that the government has lost control of the narrative. Thereâs too much money funding activist organisations. Somehow, it needs to wrench back controlâŠ
April 4, 2023
Our niece owns an EV. She lives 2 hours away from us and came to visit at the weekend, she hired a diesel vehicle for the trip. She cannot âtrustâ the EV apparently.
April 4, 2023
EVs are great for local use. Anything over 100 miles and it is too worrying that you can’t find somewhere to recharge, you get somewhere, and there are long waits for the slow rechargers, or they are broken, and you don’t have enough charge to get elsewhere, so you have to wait no use if you have appointment deadlines.
Business estates aren’t giving permissions to put in recharging points so people who live in flats or have just on-street parking often not near their home, or would require recharging cables across pavements just can’t use EVs.
April 4, 2023
Early adopters are finding out the hard way, an expensive lesson. The re-charge time is too long for anyone who values their time.
EVs for short urban trips or for multi-drop delivery vehicles in towns and cities would be okay, just like the milk floats of days gone by.
April 4, 2023
Hopefully you are slowly edging closer to condemning explicitly the overriding blockage to growth and the destroyer of prosperity: Net Zero itself.
April 4, 2023
I find it difficult to understand how in a democracy we can be told what we can or cannot purchase.
Perhaps it was the lemming like adherence to lockdowns that have made us a submissive nation.
RIP Lord Lawson. His was an exemplar era.
April 4, 2023
I agree. Too much government-policy is driven by zealots, either within government or outside. It’s a recipe for disaster. The ‘re-wilding’ of productive farmland is another example of government stupidity.
April 4, 2023
And in other news, water companies still struggling with the vast infrastructure costs of an appalling lack of investment (yes their past Dividend policy etc looked generous) when nationalised, are being targeted by Theresa Coffey who says polluters will pay.
No they wonât. Shareholders (yours and my pension funds) will and customers and as we see with other industries hit by extra taxes investment falls. More financial illiteracy.
April 4, 2023
+1
April 4, 2023
Nigl
The people who should be paying are the CEO and Directors giving themselves very larger bonuses and share options. At the end of the day it is gross incompetence.
April 4, 2023
RIP Nigel Lawson, a real Conservative, who reformed our economy and instigated growth levels the current Blu-Green Socialists can only dream of. His passing is a sad and early epitaph for the Not-a-Conservative-Party which is going to be absolutely hammered in the May local elections.
In the 1980s, Mrs Thatcher and Nigel Lawson revived the car-making industry in the UK, after the Wilson and Heath (another pretend Conservative) Governments did their level best to completely destroy it.
And in the 2020s, the Blu-Green Socialists in the so-called Conservative Party are going to destroy it once and for all on the altar of Net Zero and trying to make people who can’t afford, can’t charge and don’t want a sub-standard EV.
Matthew Lynn, in the DT: the backlash has begun against Net Zero’s relentless war on motorists
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/01/ulez-congestion-charge-net-zero-electric-cars/
April 4, 2023
@Donna +1
The last time we had a Conservtive Government, the last time we had freedom, the last time we had a working economy, the last time we had energy security the last time we had a safe, secure and resiliant country – RIP Nigel Lawson, a real Conservative
April 4, 2023
Donna – yes but he had one downside in his thinking – he thought that Britain could do better on it’s own outside of the EU and this thinking was based mostly on the disruption to finance during the banking crisis especially in Greece Cyprus ireland etc but these countries have overcome – he should have known that the EU is much bigger than that – and was not going to allow a market of 500 million to fail.
April 4, 2023
Well said Donna
April 4, 2023
Many of the impediments to the introduction of EVs in the UK are deliberate and have been imposed by a government that is overly influenced by the fossil fuel lobby. If there is one thing that terrifies the oil majors it is the fear of ICE engines being replaced by EVs.
There is ample renewable electricity generation capacity already installed; charging a larger feet of EVs overnight would soak up windfarm generation and prevent curtailment. More offshore wind capacity is currently under construction. The problem, as with the privatised the sewage industry, is that National Grid has been starved of investment for the upgrade of the transmission network.
April 4, 2023
Sakara Gold
What a lovely rose tinted airey fairy make believe world you live in. Your love for turbines never mentions the amount of fuel necessary to be the backed up when conditions change and that the industry you are besotted with still has not come up with a feasible, cost effective plan that will make the dismantling and disposal of the old turbines and blades plus all their ancillaries environmentally friendly
April 4, 2023
Sakara Gold : âThere is ample renewable electricity generation capacity already installed; charging a larger feet of EVs overnight would soak up windfarm generation and prevent curtailment.â
I know climate activists believe they can control the global temperature and the weather, but do they also believe we can control the wind at night as well? As I write, the 27 GW of installed wind capacity is providing just 3.91 GW, 11.5% of the 34 GW demand.
If our current fleet of 40m vehicles were to charge overnight on the low power 7 KW charger, the grid would need to supply 280 GW of power.
So is the intention that âa larger fleet of evsâ would amount to no more than a few tens of thousands for the UK?
April 4, 2023
“There is ample renewable electricity generation capacity already installed;”
You may be commenting on a large city. However, the vast majority don’t live in large cities, me included. I live in a small west country town where (I estimate) only around 30% of the properties have off-street parking and therefore the ability to charge an EV from their home.
You cannot charge from the street, with cables trailing over the pavement. And anyway, cars are not necessarily parked outside the owners house since there are no paid parking bays.
The council recently installed two charging points in a town car park.
The infrastructure is simply not there, and will not be there for decades.
April 4, 2023
Nonsense we have no spare low Carbon electricity for EVs and electric cars . EVs cars create much more CO2 than keeping you old car anyway. Even it they use lower carbon electricity. Please study some energy engineering amd physics and look at the energy used to mine lithium batteries.
April 4, 2023
+1
April 4, 2023
I would say that (if anything) the Government is over-influenced by the renewables industry. We’ve just had several cold snaps where the wind didn’t blow, so all that ‘extra’ wind capacity wouldn’t have been available.
There is also the problem that renewables need huge capital investment upfront – e.g. it’s cash intensive. Maybe OK when money is cheap (free?) much less so when interest rates have returned to long term norms of 5%. Another small problem is that “renewables” are exactly that – with a working life of 20-25 years, there is going to be a need for constant replacement programmes just to maintain the existing wind capacity. It is not build and forget. At least with Nuclear you get about 60 years output for your money – regardless of whether the wind blows or the sun shines.
April 4, 2023
Unfortunately wind output is highly variable. The total curtailment last year was 3.9TWh. If we assume that EVs are driven just a well below average 6,500 miles a year and achieve about 3 miles per kWh we can calculate that it would have been sufficient for 1.3bn miles of motoring covered by just 200,000 EVs. They would need to have been holidaying in Scotland (so as to avoid the grid constraints) in February when there was the biggest surplus to give them about 1,750 miles, but in August they would have been restricted to just 250 miles.
April 4, 2023
Curtailment is to maintain grid frequency when there is excess variable wind. More wind generation means more curtailment.
April 4, 2023
Do you think burying the turbine blades is Green. Have you seen the sheer volume of those already out of commission? You do appreciate that the âwind-turbines are not recyclable?
April 4, 2023
Blockages to growth in no particular order
1. Net zero
2. Refusal to make brexit work
3. Mass illegal migration
4. Central Bank Digital Currency
5. Support for Ukraine’s evil government and sanctions
6. Support for USA’s evil agendas
7. Awful immoral and illegal lockdowns – political corruption
8. Awful and lethal vaccinatons
In short every one of your governments most cherished policies Mr Redwood.
April 4, 2023
@Des +1
No longer just miss management by this Conservative Government, but the refusal to âmanageâ. They love creating media sound-bites, policy reviews, any activity other the than the activity they were elected and paid to do.
April 4, 2023
Ian B
Net Zero Watch has come out with another corker of a report.
How the wind farm companies get their funding agreed to CfD which was hailed as a breakthrough.
But there is always a but this report shows. They are not taking up the option and costing the consumers millions. The only way you can guide the Critical masses into EVs is to have very, very cheap power. it aint going to happen. This government and parliament are letting them with away with murder.
Windfarms renege on electricity contracts for a second year
Major wind farms are again reneging on their promise to deliver power to the national grid at agreed
prices. Andrew Montford, Net Zero Watch deputy director, said:
âHow long do Government and civil service think they can go on pretending that these windfarms are going to deliver cheap power? It is a deliberate, cynical deception and it needs to stop now.â
https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2023/04/03/windfarms-renege-on-electricity-contracts-for-a-second-year/
April 4, 2023
+many
Well said.
Well said indeed.
Keep on saying please!
April 4, 2023
Blockages to net growth – Sunak, Hunt, Net Zero, high taxes, complex taxes, over regulation, market manipulation in energy, education, healthcare, housing⊠slow irrational planning, a bloated inept state sector, net harm vaccines, the lockdowns, the war on small businesses, landlords and car drivers, road blocking, HS2âŠ
April 4, 2023
Remember Liz ….they got rid of her for even saying the words ‘growth’
April 4, 2023
Unfortunately it is not, in any terms, John Redwoodâs Government.
Legally it is the Kingâs Government, colloquially itâs the Sunak Government.
Iâm afraid you can not see the redwood trees for the dead wood.
April 4, 2023
@Des
I agree, and the MPs that fail to attend Parliamentary debates where Andrew Bridgen exposes the excess deaths and adverse side effects of the unmentionable medical procedure should be ashamed of themselves.
The Tory Party have let us down very badly.
April 4, 2023
The foreign owned car manufacturers were dismayed by Kwarteng’s imposition of a 20% VAT tax on pubic chargers and his department’s donation of a ÂŁ250million “underspend” earmarked for more public EV chargers to the MoD for Ukraine. And the Government’s uneccessary withdrawal of support for the BritishVolt megafactory producing batteries.
The delays and impediments to the further introduction of EV’s are down to the government. When Labour assume power after the next GE their Green Plan will address these issues. Unfortunately, by then it may be too late for the UK car industry
April 4, 2023
Not many people can afford British battery cars. Perhaps when the Japanese and Koreans start to mass produce preferable putting them together in the UK more people will be able to get on board with it.
April 4, 2023
Sakara Gold
No mention of the reports in the Telegraph and on Google that EVs are being written off by insurance companies where minor battery damage is suspected. Insufficient qualified personnel to safely power down the batteries and no clear flow chart for the safe disposal of the battery units.
Written off, new EV supplied with all its associated carbon loadings for construction does not seem a good way to try and maintain NZ.
But the real risk is the rogue traders putting these written off EVs back on the road to unsuspecting purchasers.
France is renowned for the number of EV graveyards as reported in the DT yesterday.
April 4, 2023
I think it’s already too late for the car industry in the UK.
Some manufacturers (such as Honda) are simply pulling back to their home country, others are trying to work out how to compete in the EV space, against Tesla innovation (Giga-Factories etc) and the Chinese having such a firm grip on the essential raw materials. With regards Battery Factories in the UK, it’s chicken and egg. Without committed EV manufacturing in the UK (unlikely) there is no case for battery factories here. EVs are mechanically simpler than ICE vehicles and frankly I suspect that the Chinese will dominate the low end car market here – assuming we continue to export our manufacturing to them. But look on the bright side. Getting rid of car manufacturing here will really help us meet our Net Zero targets…. đ
April 4, 2023
Oh the âforeign owned car makers in the EUâ are completely unconcerned as they will continue to produce internal combustion engines in perpetuity- did you not read that very good news? The Commission was beaten to a pulp.
April 4, 2023
Ideology canât buck the markets.
The EU Governments are supporting ideology by trying to ban AI. AI tells the truth. It can catch politicians out and can better analyse situations. It can destroy political narratives based on ideology.
If you have used ChatGPT you will know how good it is. It is scoring 90% in many post graduate exams for law, business and medical school and the large scale language technology is only a few years old.
I recommend everybody uses chatGPT for a couple of hours asking it political questions.
April 4, 2023
ChatGPT humans are making themselves redundant.
April 4, 2023
@Javelin
ChatGPT is not as it infers AI, artificial yes, intelligence as in being able to rationalize no. ChatGPT for the most part is just a massive great database of peoples âpostsâ on the internet. In the end it makes it possible to manipulate the results.
Research, views, reports and so on that are not available on the internet, is therefore not part of the equation.
Don’t forget it is censored at all times to suit the views of its owner, anything considered âfree speechâ is redacted. There are no alternative views by design.
Just ask it what it is banned from reporting on. Then ask it why, then ask it it for examples â a totally different political view emerges. Although I understand they are now blocking this process as well
As a quick tool for programming regular routines it is good.
April 4, 2023
I’d recommend that you don’t assume that these AI are infallable – they most certainly are not.
I can cite several examples of where friends have asked specific questions and received answers that we know to be incorrect (but that others might not). The problem is going to be that people start to think these systems cannot be wrong and are therefore influenced by them. I wouldn’t rule out that they could not “lie” (e.g. deliberately give false information) either. These are complex algoirithms and even the designers don’t really understand what is going on inside them. That’s before we even consider them being used by ‘Bad Actors’ for their own ends. I’d treat them with great caution.
April 4, 2023
AI might sometimes tell the truth but it rather depends how how it was set up, programmed and what date sources it is allowed or able to access. Using the BBC or Guardian data gives a totally different result to say the Mail or Telegraph – both prob. mainly wrong but in very different ways.
April 4, 2023
Iâm afraid I am with Elon Musk on this one. Back in the day when I was a systems analyst at CDC and Kema Nobel we spoke of AS (artificial stupidity) rather than AI.
April 4, 2023
Sad to hear today of the death of Nigell Lawson, a visionary Chancellor.
What you say today in true, the insane drive to nett zero and the destruction of our car industry are the direct result of a flat earther chancellor. Getting rid of J Hunt would be a good first step towards sanity. However it will not happen , you are all on a ride to electoral hell in a hand cart. I and a good many others have had enough. I can accept that there are a few right thinking individuals in the consocialist party, but not enough for common sense to prevail. From an 80 seat majority to self destruction in three and a half years must be a record, and now the body snatchers are in charge of the corpse.
April 4, 2023
It’s actually far worse than you suggest. Jaguar has been planning on ending the production of IC-engined cars in 2025! Who is then going to buy their very expensive products? Not sure what the plan is for Landrover.
A rethink is required but I fear that most manufacturers are now over-committed to EVs when we, the users find them unsuitable and too expensive.
My wife and I should be prime candidates to buy at least two : My wife would be the perfect candidate for a Golf-sized EV. She has refused to change her 20 year old Mercedes A Klasse which she has had from new. It has been totally reliable and always garaged and has only covered 62,000 miles. Longest journey is never more than 100 miles and we have a full set of solar panels on Gordon Brown’ ludicrously generous feed-in tarrif.
A suitable replacement might be a Fiesta or a Golf, but an EV would be at least double the cost!
Unsurprisingly, with the uncertainty, she is sticking with her Mercedes.
Last night we returned from an Austrian Skiing holiday in my Audi A7 turbo Diesel. (625 mile range, 3 minutes to “recharge”).
We had one overnight stop at Rudesheim but covered the whole journey on one tank plus a 20 litre top up.
An EV would have been a nightmare. Where we stayed overnight, there were no charging points within a mile.
Even the most expensive EV would have required three recharges to get us home.
We saw families queuing to use charging points on the Autobahns and when wecstopped at Fleet services on the M3 for a drink, there were 12 charging points but only four were in working order!
A friend and I will be towing our motorcycles to the Alps in June but no EV has yet been produced that could tow my trailer more than 125 miles on one charge.
For all sorts of reasons I won’t be swapping my Audi for an EV anytime soon, especially as the nearest equivalent – an Audi E tron GT – costs almost ÂŁ100,000 and would struggle to do 220 miles between charging stops without a trailer.
April 4, 2023
Growth is what the government wants to massage the debt interest. What government should really do is shrink the state, so people can enjoy a better quality of life with lower taxation. Government doesn’t want that, as it wants more tax to spend on its vanity projects.
People could enjoy a better quality of life if the cost of living was lower. For example, reduce housing costs by banning foreign ownership and second homes. Government doesn’t want that, as it likes the high housing costs coupled with stamp duty receipts. Let the people sweat.
April 4, 2023
The manifesto said 2050, Boris brought it forward to 2030; why on whose orders?
April 4, 2023
Who’s in charge ! No who’s really in charge ?
April 4, 2023
I think that in the circles of influence it is felt that âgrowthâ ( like reasonable interest rates for savers ) is a BAD capitalist / industrialist thing and must not be pursued.
And letâs face itâŠin the light of all reason âtheyâ have pursued neither. And only in the face of âLower for Longerâ economic armageddon have they reluctantly raised rates.
Magic Money Tree didnât work really. Growth probably does!
April 4, 2023
âRemoving blockages to growthâ On current performance and recent history the blockage to growth is this socialist, centralist (along with other such phrases) Conservative Government. They have an aggressive policy of import, import, import while discouraging enterprise at home.
A 70 year high in tax, higher tax means all business and industry have to increase prices to cover the increase â hence even more inflation. More reasons to expand outside the UK, after-all the UK is an import centric economy, they can produce cheaper then import for their home market. The list is endless.
The UK Problems are all based on this Conservative Governments inability to manage. A one size fits all doesnât work when flexibility is required. The Lack of infrastructure, energy security and resilience is all down to 13 years of Conservative Governments refusal to do the job they were voted to do and get paid for â be Conservatives. Deliberately and maliciously forcing the UK to be beholden to foreign nations on an import first strategy, while suppressing home grown enterprise â is well⊠you de-side.
April 4, 2023
Indeed RIP Nigel Lawson, author of the most informative word “An Appeal To Reason”
I would recommend this book to any-one who uses logic to try and understand the ill thought out argument surrounding NZ.
When 27 countries of importance held a meeting concerning Co2 and it appears not one suggestion to call for a total ban on destroying the rain forests, we can only assume a hidden agenda [or was it the media holding back again ?] Bye Nigel Lawson I think I might try to obtain your book “The Power Game”
April 4, 2023
I have tried out one or two hybrid electric vehicles, but have now concluded that for my type of usage it is highly unlikely I would switch from straight petrol. I have being doing long journeys (250 – 400 miles) all my life. Even the longest range availanble now rarely will meet the figure quoted by manufacturer, depoending on weather, temperature, age of batteries etc. I am not prepared to make a long journey longer by stopping for more than a few minutes. Filling up with petrol takes 5 minutes normally!
In addition, batteries take up a lot of space, usually where the spare wheel was stowed. I am not prepared to drive a car without a spare wheel – even if not provided from new there must be a space to put one bought as an extra.
Local running about, charged from your house – fine. Anything else , no good to me! Its very doubtful in any case over the manufacture and life of a car and several sets of batteries the climate will gain much anyway.
April 4, 2023
âThe government says it wants to promote growth.â
No it doesnât.
The whole concept of CAGW/Net Zero is to unilaterally reduce our energy consumption by reducing our output, living standards and activities.
The only growth will be the fees of the lawyers taking the country to court for not achieving the CCAâs legally binding/statutory carbon budgets.
Only in communist countries would the population be forced to buy products they donât want
April 4, 2023
The most effective single measure towards greater growth would be to reduce corporation tax to match that of the Republic of Ireland. The evidence is that it would be self financing by attracting more businesses to locate to UK.
Our policy goal should not be to grow GDP but rather GDP per capita or average income. I doubt whether subsidising female employment will achieve this. Ensuring the profitability of SMEs probably will.
On issue after issue, we could take advantage of our reacquired sovereignty to reduce unpopular and wasteful public expenditure. Why do we give legal ail to unauthorised immigrants? Why do we pay for their accommodation instead of loaning them money? Why do we not banish immigrants without passport or ID to the Outer Hebridies, equipping them with a tent, a shovel to dig latrines, and little else, until we can remove them?
Why are we not prepared to ‘go nuclear’ by removing our signature from the international law of treaties? Why are we not prepared to cut down to size our woke supreme court, our woke monarchy, our woke House of Lords and our bloated public sector bureaucracy – including that of the NHS?
April 4, 2023
A beautiful Spring morning ..and I am scared âŠliterally scared to go out into the garden.
As the weather improves I know that the intolerable noise levels will rise.
Every season now brings its horrors and here folk seem unbowed by recent government impositions.
I suppose generous benefits help.
We used to have nice, friendly normal neighbours in a nice residential area until this creeping rental/multiple dwelling Tory stuff happened.
There is no escape and even the continent doesnât want them as holidaymakers!
April 4, 2023
There has been too little thought for the whole EV ownership process.
Third party insurance in case someone trips over the charging leads.
Body repair shop without fully trained
” electrical engineers” a small repair can become a major headache.
Replacement batteries are being quoted on the Internet supply and installed ÂŁ19k plus VAT.
The recommended way to own an EV is to lease it for three years and then replace it. Reducing the risk of high expenditure on a replacement battery.
Definitely not for the average working family. Walk, bike or bus for us. But that is the cunning plan isn’t it?
April 4, 2023
Sunak had a picture of Nigel Lawson on his wall but failed to follow his low tax legacy of smarter thinking. Rip.
April 4, 2023
The problem is this Conservative Government, from today’s Telegraph âPolluters will pay to clean up sewage-infested rivers, says ThĂ©rĂšse Coffeyâ
âCompanies could now face unlimited finesâ what is not said it is the consumer that always pays the fine not the Company, they just raise their prices to cover the fine.
The quoted intention then is for the money collected in fines to go towards improving the system and standards. Or in other words the money goes back to the failed management to do the job they were already paid to do. So it is still the consumer paying.
In keeping with this Conservative Governments import, import policy, 71% of UK Water/Sewerage is owned in Foreign Domains also by Foreign Governments etc. Their shareholders are untouchable. For the most part due to management fees being abroad they do not get to pay UK tax on this highly profitable enterprise, so will not be paying the fines. So once again the UK Consumer pays, the UK Consumer paid for the development of the facilities, it pays again to use them, then get landed with the fines for the industries mismanagement, all this so a mouthpiece for this Conservative Government gets to pontificate again. It a make believe world created by make believe Conservatives.
With respect Sir John, you ask about UK Blockages and like everything else of late it is still the refusal of this Conservative Government to manage. Soundbites and reviews are not management, that’s just ego and self gratification
April 4, 2023
@Ian B
The item from Therese Coffey in the Telegraph then goes on to suggest because of the ever increasing pressure as a result of population growth Water Companies will be compelled to install meters to cut back on its use, there is just not enough to go round. (were are all these people coming from)
The media is being snowed under by needless if not just useless efforts from the Conservative Government to pontificate on things they have no grasp on, to give the illusion they are doing something. When in reality they are avoiding their actual jobs and running around like headless chickens. The result being they never ever think through what they are actually saying.
In recent days we have had, Rishi Sunak (5 point nothing to do here) Grant Shapps(Windmills), now Therese Coffey(reward failure), I wonder who will be next to front up the deflection of purpose and getting on with the Conservative ideal
April 4, 2023
âA 2030 ban [on the sales of new ices] is a very bad idea.â
Yes, but very likely to happen if the keys to the asylum are given to Mr. Miliband.
And what will happen from 2030 onwards?
It will depend upon the further legislation, such as increasing VED, driving restrictions, costs of spare parts etc.) Mr. Miliband introduces to drive ices off the road and the impracticalities of evs will not be a consideration for a communist government.
In fact, restricted travel is aim.
April 4, 2023
Germany is planning petrol/diesel phase out by 2035 but not to be replaced by electric cars but rather cars running on efuel which is synthetic petrol made from hydrogen and CO2. Seems somewhat more sensible than what we are planning.
April 4, 2023
Only down side is that the estimated cost is well over ÂŁ6/litre at todays prices, about four times the cost of petrol (and that’s before the gov. put their duty and tax on it), so lets say ÂŁ10/litre at the pump.
April 5, 2023
I imagine they will keep their coal fired power stations as a source of fuel feedstock too.
April 4, 2023
”A 2030 ban is a very bad idea”
30,000 direct job lost with an additional 100,000 jobs lost
You only need to employ a twentieth of the workforce to assemble Chinese components
The major car brands don’t want to be left with stock ….they’ll end ICE production in 2026/7
April 4, 2023
I fully agree that restraining the car industry at the present time is a great mistake ;there is little trust in the efficiency and mileage range of electric cars and until this is overcome we should leave things as they are . Growth in the manufacturing sector is a major influence on the economy and continuity of employment ; it must be supported . Other countries will take advantage of how we approach industry ; we will be the ones to suffer .
April 4, 2023
You are right, Sir John, & your articles on how to get growth will be very good. But are you the last conservative MP we have? This Government seems determined to do the exact opposite of what people want & has no idea how to create the right circumstances for growth. A modern economy is totally dependent on energy, so the No 1 priority should be energy self-sufficiency!
But is it? No, of course not! Every MP should have educated themselves & know that net-zero is complete nonsense, but like lemmings, they seem incapable of basic common sense. That should be closely followed by food security as far as we are able, but is it? No, of course not!
Now we have the nonsense of a bill to enable people to sue their employer if they hear something they don’t like or are offended by someone else’s comment & the PM is backing
it!!!!! Where are the angry conservative MPs demanding action on energy & food security & demanding that this bill is dropped? It seems to me, Sir John, you are fighting a lonely battle!
April 4, 2023
For those who want to use an EV for a journey, rather than just as a shopping car, EVs have too short a range and take too long to charge up.
That’s all you need to know, so lift the 2030 ICE ban.
April 4, 2023
Swedish ferries banned EVs from travelling on them some time ago because of the massively increased fire risk. Multistorey car park owners are now saying they are nervous about the hugely increased weight/ground ratio of heavy EVs parked in high rise situations. Underground car park owners have said they are concerned that EVs combusting there could lead to another Grenfell-type blaze. There are numerous videos of EVs just bursting into flames without any warning.
Now insurers are saying that even a small bump to the battery, which is usually immediately below the car (as for instance from mounting the kerb briefly or going over a spee bump), means the battery will be rendered so unstable that the whole car should be scrapped, for safetyâs sake.
Going down this road is crazy.
April 4, 2023
Once again we are faced with the fact that those that govern us uneducated for the modern world. They know from their study of English history that we are the good guys and that our law makers can pass any law that they believe is just. However, they do not have the knowledge to immediately question the feasibility or impact of laws
which relate to science before voting them onto the statute book. We the people are the ones whose lives are curtailed by their ignorance and we don’t even have an electoral system that enables those with a better understanding to break into the closed world of British politics.
April 4, 2023
THE GOVERNMENT KNOWS BEST
đ
April 5, 2023
Sounds like something Sunak would say
April 4, 2023
Apparently you are now going to penalise manufacturer’s for not meeting sales targets for things people don’t want (clown world).
People don’t want useless expensive heat pumps, and sales of EV’s fell recently.
Why does the Conservative party actually want to destroy this country ?
April 4, 2023
It reminds me of the deserted ghost cities built by decree of the Chinese government.
The Tories seem to be taking their cue from the CCP.
April 4, 2023
Sorry SJ, I cannot resist it. To remove the blockages to UK growth – Pull the plugs out in Downing Street.
April 4, 2023
I see where the Germans have introduced a 49 euro per month transport ticket – travel where you like travel when you like – to enourage more people into public transport good idea I suppose –
April 5, 2023
Not so sure about the where and when bit. Bavarian postbus service is rather intermittent and not off the beaten track.
April 4, 2023
Following the so called “arrest” of Donald J Trump, Nothing can stop what is coming, NOTHING.
April 5, 2023
You heard wrongly: Mr Trump was arraigned, ie read the list of his 34 criminal charges. Given that he flew back to Florida afterwards he had hardly been ÂŽarrestedâ.
But as you say ÂŽnothing can stop what is comingÂŽ, unfortunately it might not be what you wish for âŠ
April 5, 2023
Hefner – Point taken but the word “arrest” was in inverted comas. The outcome will be positive for mankind and freedom from the controlling cabals.
April 9, 2023
The government’s latest budget confirms high tax rises on business will not help pursue its five aims of promoting growth. I will write a series of pieces over the weeks ahead containing proposals for regulatory and tax change that could assist growth.
Banning the sales of new diesel and petrol cars from 2030 is a bad idea which will mean premature closure of petrol and diesel car and van making facilities here, with more car companies taking their investment into diesel, petrol and hybrid elsewhere. This ban should be lifted.
An early ban will deliver more investment in all electric vehicles, but the car industry wants to see established battery making lines here first whilst those considering battery investment want orders from car companies to make their big investment worthwhile. They all need more evidence of the benefits of electric vehicles before making the switch.
April 10, 2023
The biggest obstacle I see to UK economic growth are Tory old ladies who are allowed to dominate council planning committees. These characters are usually against just about anything. Maybe it is the real reason for poor economic growth in the UK compared to other economies.