Some contributors asked me to say more about our growing import dependence. The UK has been a net importer of electricity since the second quarter of 2010. In the last century we had a policy of security of supply and national self sufficiency. The latest government quarterly report for the third quarter of 2021 stated that the net imports of 7.6TWh for that period was the “highest value ever”. Imports reached 8.4 TWh whilst exports were 0.8 TWh. Our main exports are to Ireland which took 0.8TWh over the three months. The biggest single source of imported power is France, followed by the Netherlands. One of the reasons for the increase in imports was the poor performance of wind power.
Scotland which usually supplies substantial power into England from its large windfarms supplied 50% less in the third quarter. Scottish wind farms are given priority to supply when they are up and running, taking precedence over England based gas plants in accordance with the decarbonisation policy.
Fuel imports from the EU rose by 50% in the third quarterĀ on a small base and imports from the rest of the world rose by 34% on a larger base. The UK also exported some fuel to the EU over that time period.
There is no evidence to support the proposition that the UK has a good business exporting wind based energy to the continent at scale when the wind blows well. The French system is usually well supplied by nuclear power, whilst continental wind farms also tend to do well when the wind is blowing across northernĀ Europe as a whole. The danger is when there is plenty of wind market prices for surplus power are often low.
So the questions to askĀ are
- Why have we allowed ourselves to become so dependent on imported electricity from Europe, when the continent is short of gas and oil, wishing to close down its coal activities and dependent on Russian gas? What are the prospects for French nuclear given the age of the fleet and the high replacement costs and delays in construction?
- How central is security of supply in policy formation?
- What is the relative cost of wind power and gas generated electricity given the need for more back up power for wind provision and adjusting for priority access to customers afforded to wind power?
- Ā When could we become a serious exporter of electricity making a profit from the transaction inĀ the way some argue we could?
January 5, 2022
The EU classifying gas as “Green” means it can and no doubt will import more from Russia. Opening Nordstream 2 will help Germany put pressure on Ukraine to join the EU as it will receive less money in transfer fees. All this supports the imperial expansion of the EU.
It is incomprehensible that the UK now wishes to inflict EU Government as a foreign power on Ukraine, having itself just escaped by the skin of its teeth rule bu that that same imperial foreign power.
France, of course, thinks rather more strategically than the UK’s Westminster and Whitehall. It signed a treaty with Australia to help it realise the opportunities in the Indo-Pacific and to further its existing interests there long before the UK was even aware of any opportunities, after acting as a continental power for years and still largely thinking like one. Likewise, France has security of energy supply.
Macron treats the UK with the disrespect it deserves. As he is now the President of the European Council we can expect him to put the boot in to the UK unless the UK supports his military challenge to Putin. Having security of energy supply, unlike Germany, and credible military forces, he can afford to challenge Putin in a way Germany could not. Doing so would also enhance France’s standing in the EU, trumping Germany as the senior member, acting in visible practical ways defending EU interests.
Given the timescale of the French presidential elections, expect action sooner rather than later.
Boris’s government had better find some backbone and learn to govern in the UK’s interests, rather than those of the EU pretty smartish.
Apologies to Lord Frost, you did your best.
January 5, 2022
Charles Michel, a Belgian, is the President of the European Council, and has been since 2019.
January 5, 2022
Frostās best was shockingly poor. Donāt you think?
I reckon my 9-year-old could have negotiated a better deal. It could hardly be worse than this absolute mess the Brexitists have imposed on us.
January 5, 2022
On this subject I concur, this government and its array of negotiators have, time after time, made a complete hash of the UK/EU brexit deal that no-one who voted brexit wanted
January 5, 2022
No one who voted remain wanted it either.
So congratulations on reality Brexit – which you accept nobody wanted. Perhaps we should have a referendum?
January 5, 2022
Please read my reply again….I was saying no-one voted for a UK/EU deal, however the majority vote to leave the EU ie without any deal
January 5, 2022
Mr Frost is a very sensible and talented man.
And he donāt rate this government.
January 5, 2022
Thanks for the benchmark as to your judgement.
January 5, 2022
+100
I love this bit āhaving itself just escaped by the skin of its teethā. Hopefully true.
And apparently Napā¦oh sorryā¦.Macron is now the āsymbolic headā of the European Council and intends to milk it for all its worth.
He sees himself as the champion of democracy against populism!
Oh dear!!
January 5, 2022
If the French are opening more coal fired power stations and weāre importing more energy from Franceā¦.why donāt we just open our own coal fired power stationsā¦.weāre not importing green energy from Europe weāre importing āenergyā and its not cheaper
January 5, 2022
+many!!!
January 5, 2022
thats far too sensible Glen.
January 5, 2022
We don’t know for sure why Lord Frost gave up. I suspect that Boris Johnson was only ever bluffing over the Irish protocol and he decided to retreat when the EU threatened to cancel his fantastic trade deal, but that is just my provisional take on events. Anyway the breaking news is the claim that the Irish sea border checks are unlawful because they have not been approved by the Northern Ireland executive:
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/brexit/irish-sea-border-checks-may-cease-by-end-of-month-after-edwin-poots-confirms-executive-approval-is-needed-41210582.html
“Irish sea border checks may cease by end of month after Edwin Poots confirms Executive approval is needed”
January 5, 2022
Thats great news
January 5, 2022
+1 but all rather depressing.
January 5, 2022
Good morning.
Sir John
1) It is a question of perspective. You ask these questions from a position of someone who believes the UK is an independent nation and acts for its own self interest. But for the past 50 years that has not been the case. We (the political class and the establishment) have allowed ourselves to be fooled into thinking that those on the continent are our friends and that sharing common resources is the way forward. This was the fantasy of the European Coal and Steel Community which was the stepping stone to today’s EU.
There needed to be something to symbolise ‘European Unity’ and allowing others (the Commission / High Authority) to control the method of creating things (coal and steel) was a good start. Energy supply is just another extension of what was to become further European integration and interdependence.
Today we are supposedly out of the EU but, those who wish us back in want us to be as closely tied or in lockstep to it. Hence why so little to deviate has been done.
Our energy policy has been built around European Unity and interdependence – ie One European Nation. So the policy of letting others build it and just buy it in was created with no thought to the fact that we would ever Leave the EU.
2) We now find ourselves captured by Watermelons and Europhiles (working for their own reasons) preventing us from creating our own independent energy policy.
We live in a modern society and have seen the effects when people panic when there is fear over shortages. I fear the worst when the lights go out.
3) It is inefficient to have a diesel generator sitting idle (which you have to pay for whether or not you use it) and a wind turbine only producing power when the wind blows and not when it is needed. It is this last thing that green zealots do not seem to understand. The whole supply and demand side of things have been inverted and this is what is making things so needlessly more expensive.
4) The problem here is one of supply and demand. If you keep making more and more demands on the system – ie higher population, electric cars etc. then you are never going to achieve parity let alone have enough to sell on. Looking at things such as energy generation and supply in such simple isolation will just lead to more bad policy. We need to stop importing people into the UK so we know how much energy we need. Then we need to determine what power generation sources there need to be, the costs and access to them. I am a strong believer of wind and solar but for local use. I also believe in energy efficiency and diversity of supply. If we have gas boilers then we do not need to build as many electrical generation plants.
Not since the 1970’s when we last had blackouts and I had to read by candle light have we taken energy policy seriously. Perhaps when said blackouts return people will and so to will government. It is such a shame that it will take such a thing to happen for people to do their job.
January 5, 2022
You make good points. UK energy policy is incoherent unless you believe in being dependent on others for energy security and you believe you are going to be boiled alive in 78 years time unless you ban the use of oil and gas as an energy source. Project fear has been deployed to brainwash the UK public to accept this incoherence for the past 30 years. It remains to be seen if Project Fear can overcome the natural hostility to the c50% prices for energy that are in prospect. I read that in Kazakhstan there are wide spread riots after the price caps on liquified petroleum gas (LPG) were removed, causing the price to double overnight. Kazakhstan is a one party state yet so far has failed to keep the lid on the riots. Will the UK`s nominally two party state fare any better given that both agree on an “up the creek without a paddle” energy policy?
January 5, 2022
PS; Apparently the entire Cabinet of the government of Kazakhstan has now resigned as a result of the riots. There is next to no chance of that happening here.
January 5, 2022
I think you’ll find external forces are at work in Kazakhstan.Look where it sits on the map!
January 5, 2022
It’s also the world’s largest exporter of uranium (2020).
January 5, 2022
Good questions – especially the first two.
A further question would be :-
Why was Boris Johnson allowed to introduce his COP26/ NetZero targets without adequatr warning in the election manifesto? Why have the expected goals like financial prudence been abandoned under cover of NetZero and Covid?
January 5, 2022
Is this all part of an EU energy scheme that we signed up to?
January 5, 2022
A other question is why can’t the government remove VAT on energy bills.
I believe it’s to do with the NIP and a level playing field. If this is true then it’d another reason this one sided protocol must go.
January 5, 2022
Because they are addicted to pissing tax payers money down the drain on insanities like HS2, net zero, vast bloated government, soft loans/grants for largely worthless degrees, billions wasted on test and traceā¦they need the taxes (in effect partial ~ 50% enslavement of the population to pay for all this idiotic waste)
January 5, 2022
I for Sunakās eat out to help out insanity taxpayers had to pay for that too so richer tax payers could eat out and have half paid for them by others.
January 5, 2022
I used it a number of times and thought that the scheme gave the Restaurant sector a good boost. Last year, two of my four ‘locals’ went bust during lockdowns so I wouldn’t complain about another EOTHO scheme in either January or February. But a number of restaurants have sent me emails advertising special promotions.
January 5, 2022
perhaps they will be put to good use in future – soup kitchens, food banks…
January 5, 2022
Removing VAT on bills is a good political ploy but it will do little to address the costs, saving probably around a pound a week per household and costing perhaps 2 billion a year. Much bigger are the green levies and taxes which probably amount to another six pounds a week on top at present, let alone what will happen in April when it will probably be about ten pounds. This whole tax on energy must go, it does no good except make rich people richer on the backs of the poor – and that is the reason why a Tory government won’t do it.
January 5, 2022
Itās the tail wagging the dog
The people would soon realise something was wrong if the government reduced VAT in GB but wasnāt allowed to (under the NI protocol without negotiation with the EU) in NIā¦.so best leave it alone
January 5, 2022
That’s my reasoning exactly.
I see John never responded so it must be true.
January 5, 2022
While removing VAT would only make a small difference and is by no means the silver bullet to the energy price crisis, it would be a superb gesture which would at least begin to address the problem and would show the benefit of Brexit.
In 2016 Boris wrote: āIn 1993, VAT on household energy bills was imposed. This makes gas and electricity much more expensive. EU rules mean we cannot take VAT off those bills. When we Vote Leave we will be able to scrap this unfair and damaging tax”. I can’t understand why Brexit-supporting Conservative MPs don’t challenge him publicly – such as in the Chamber – to live up to his promise. By failing to do so he just proves once more to the general public what a liar he is and that he cannot be trusted on anything.
January 5, 2022
Would that be another Boris promise !
January 5, 2022
Indeed why was cop26 and net zero introduced via the back door and implemented under the table without the moral consent of the peopleā¦.if the green revolution is so good why do you have to ban the alternatives
January 5, 2022
Because he is under the influence of Carrie who, like him, has no scientific knowledge. Note that decarbonisation will bring about an unparalleled economic calamity, that UK produces one per cent of global CO2 , that no one is listening to Borisās virtue signalling, and finally CO2 has no effect on the weather
January 6, 2022
Mrs May had already passed it into law as the last thing she did with the Traitors’ Parliament. Was it in the 2017 manifesto?
January 5, 2022
When designing infrastructure to supply commercial, industrial domestic supplies the most important of criteria has to be the maximum load albeit that it may be for a very short period of the day.
Power generation is very much the same that the control engineers know all the peaks and troughs and can balance the output accordingly when the plant is controllable that it can balanced to operate at a optimum efficiency.
Our problems are compouded by the intermittent power source (wind and sun) makes balancing the grid almost impossible without shutting down areas
of generation or that the grid cannot absorb all the power being generated in optimum weather conditions hence the massive constraint payments to the power generators.
The decision to give Scottish windfarms precedence over the UK grid does not bear well should ever the SNP get its independence wish. It is not above the realms of possibility that they could do a Russia or the rest of the UK will still be sending millions back when the wind doesn’t blow or is too strong. Scotland has always taken the turbines at the cost to its people and countryside as it sets them as nothing but an export commodity
Each part of the UK should have its own capability for power generation.
January 5, 2022
England imported circa 18% of its electric from a combination of Scotland, Wales and interconnectors from mainland Europe.
January 5, 2022
Acorn. Scotland often imports from England too.
January 5, 2022
Energy dependency has been British public policy since 1997. EU-centric forces based in London still control many areas of vital importance to the day to day running of this nation despise the Brexit victory
Labour is part of the problem but we expect more of the Tory party to attack those who continue to construct policy in an EU-focused manner
Mr Redwood tries his best but he’s a voice in the wilderness in a party who couldn’t give a flying shit about the UK. Like Labour, they are party focused, career focused and determined to protect the status quo from all threats
If Labour ever get back into power we will become a Covid State, all monitoring, oppressive and back in the EU. The British voter simply doesn’t understand that Labour is Tory and Tory is Labour. No longer do we have two competing visions but two slight variants of the same politics
January 5, 2022
“Peace is war” etc.
January 5, 2022
+many
How does Starmer manage to test āpositiveā so many time?
Good job itās not the bubonic plague or something bad isnāt it?
š¤§
January 5, 2022
and was he ‘track and traced?’ then tested and found positive?
January 5, 2022
A midnight knock from the Covid Cheka?!
January 5, 2022
He didn’t look like he had a cold yesterday….hope he gets well soon
January 5, 2022
+1
Tested and found wanting maybe?
January 5, 2022
Everhopeful
He cannot even manage his own personal contacts, what is it 6 times now he has had to isolate ?
How on earth is he going to ever manage and run a country !
He always wants to talk about so called Party’s at No 10, but Boris has only caught it once, and that was before the so called Party’s.
January 6, 2022
Boris got it from Ferguson – and at the same meeting so did Hancock, Gove, Sedwill, Whitty, and Cummings.
January 5, 2022
How does Starmer keep ‘testing positive’ so many times, EH? Because the tests are meaningless, and as a politician he keeps meeting lots of people, some of whom have ‘tested positive’, so he has to self-isolate. Completely barmy, but it’s part of the Covid political theatre he seems happy to see inflicted on the whole country.
January 6, 2022
Having had it so many times certainly proves there is no ‘herd immunity’ so that theory is out of the window.
January 5, 2022
I also note that there wasn’t much concern for his well being on the BBC.
Because they know it’s a low risk disease. I even heard a broadcaster laugh yesterday when it was announced that his producer was off having tested positive.
You never hear “OMG ! Did you hear ? Joe Blogs in accounts has got the Covid !!!!” The reasonable assumption is that the infected is going to have zero symptoms.
The west cannot carry on with restrictions like this over something that is so weak.
January 5, 2022
This morning, wind is providing 13.2GW or 42% of UK demand. CCGT 6GW, the gas used is produced in the UK. Renewables total is 15.GW 51% of demand. Again we are exporting juice to the EU
Wind is performing extremely well today and has been for the past four days. The reason we have had to import so much electricity is because EDF took Dungeness B nuclear station offline due to safety concerns.
January 5, 2022
Sakara
Is this not the point JR is making, wind only works when the wind blows at a reasonable speed.
It does not work when wind speed is low, or too high when they have to be switch off for safety reasons.
We need guaranteed electricity supply 24 hours per day, 365 days of the year, thus to rely upon wind as a base power source would be crazy, Have it as part of the mix by all means, but it is not a sustainable base load power source.
It also depends upon what time of the day or night you extract your figures, as power demand throughout the day and night is variable, not a constant.
January 5, 2022
Well, Sir John’s party – especially the ERG – believe that the markets should decide everything.
It seems that they have done so, and that this would answer his oft-repeated questions.
His party have been in power for twelve years now, incidentally.
January 5, 2022
Indeed. Take Omicron. The Conservatives have allowed the market to decide how many people will get sick from it and how many people will die from it.
Pretty appalling I think.
When youāre having a heart attack should you book a local cab or an Uber to take you to A&E?
January 6, 2022
I think the behaviour of the victim decides whether you catch Omicron, it doesn’t knock on your door and ask to infect you!
And paramedics should ask for proof of vaccine before suggesting they take the patient to hospital, they do ask -you see. The unvaccinated ought to do their national duty and decline being a drain on NHS resources for what will be weeks, citing more worthy cases.
January 5, 2022
I know some people who rely entirely on solar (give or take a few generators lol).
Much scratching of heads ( and NO POWER) when there was a long cloudy spell!
January 5, 2022
You never hear of people having diesel, gas or petrol generated power having a solar backup system
January 5, 2022
We are exporting to Europe at a loss to balance the grid. Not a sensible state of affairs.
It’s no good using selective data look at the figures John has researched you will see we import a large proportion of our requirements annually.
January 5, 2022
Sakara Gold :
āWind is performing extremely well today and has been for the past four days. The reason we have had to import so much electricity [third quarter of 2021] is because EDF took Dungeness B nuclear station offline due to safety concerns.ā
Nonsense.
Dungeness B (1.1GW), which started in 1983 and lasted 10 years longer than its original design life, has not been producing any power since September 2018 when it was closed for inspection and risk assessment. Although many issues had been solved, EDF in June 2021, decided to finally close the plant and begin defuelling. The CE of the Nuclear Industry Association said :
“Dungeness B was the first of a nuclear fleet that has saved over 1.2 billion tonnes of carbon emissions, the equivalent of all UK emissions from 2018 through 2020, and far more than any other electricity source. Despite its difficulties, the plant has been of one of the 10 most productive low-carbon assets in UK history.”
January 5, 2022
Sakara Gold : āThis morning, wind is providing 13.2GW or 42% of UK demand.ā
This afternoon, demand has increased from 31GW to 44GW but wind has dropped from 13.2GW to 7.3GW or 16% of demand.
Wind would not exist as a source of electrical energy at all if it was not for the fact that fossil fuel generators are on hand to provide both short-term grid stability and long-term back-up.
January 5, 2022
The answers:
1. The government gives the EU priority because they are scared of the EU/appeasers/EU sycophants/trough swillers and have no regard for the long term future of the UK (choose your own reason).
2. Unimportant and non-existent. The government is happy to rely upon our ‘friends’ the French blackmailers and Russian warmongers.
3. The price will be whatever the suppliers demand as we will have no alternative in place when we ban fossil fuels.
4. This government will not support exporting or even self sufficiency as it prefers virtue signalling even at the cost of high trade deficits. This means we will sell off even more UK essential services to people/countries that will maybe use this power to blackmail the UK, but we will have our excuses ready and waiting and appease the blackmailers where necessary.
Sir John, do you think you will get answers, or platitudes, from this government? I suspect you will get platitudes. This isn’t a democratic government. It is a PC/woke/minority appeasing/self indulgent/ authoritarian/socialist/green religion/nightmare.
January 5, 2022
It is indeed āa PC/woke/minority appeasing/self indulgent/ authoritarian/socialist/green religion/nightmareā. Bit you missed out a tax to death, regulate to death, borrow and piss down the drain one too.
I have still found nothing positive that Blair did in his three terms. Responsible too for the evil āhate crimeā agenda, the open door immigration policy, the dire anti-England devolution arrangements, the changes to the NHS making it even worse, the expansion of duff degrees for all, expansion of the human right industry, more and more red tape, the private pension pot thefts, the appalling & failed wars, appointing the appalling Gordon Brown as Chancellorā¦
January 5, 2022
+many
And Double Jeopardy.
Dreadful man.
And nothing has got better since then. Just worse and worse.
January 5, 2022
Shirley M
To isn’t a democratic,……………….
Love it. Why don’t you say what you really think or is it unprintable.
January 5, 2022
If a course of action seems to make no sense then step back and look for ulterior motives. It is a plan by EU rejoiner traitors, and I include Boris in this group, to weaken our country and allow us to be held hostage into accepting further UK damaging EU policies.
January 5, 2022
Christine,
I agree.
Boreas was never a Leaver. His father, brother and sister are all Remainers.
He only saw backing Leave as an opportunity to become PM and to win an election by āgetting Brexit doneā.
But he hasnāt got Brexit ādoneā and, like so many of our establishment, has no wish to complete the task or take advantages that Brexit offers in the hope that running the country into to the ground with economy destroying projects, such as the Net Zero Strategy, we will someday return to being ruled by the unelected EU elites.
Also, no chance therefore to see wasteful EU projects such as HS2 cancelled.
January 5, 2022
I do like the fact that you call people like me traitors. It makes you sound like a deluded old bat.
January 6, 2022
Well you mostly fit the dictionary meaning…
January 5, 2022
Reply to Shirley,
Yes, a living nightmare.
January 5, 2022
And another question:
How keen will European countries be to continue to supply the UK when they have internal power shortages?
At that point it will be every man/woman/other for himself.
January 5, 2022
PeteB
Last line absolutely correct, there will also be arguments within the EU itself when this happens.
January 5, 2022
@Peter +1
That’s the future prospect we face
January 5, 2022
They won’t, the French will open the circuit breakers and stop exporting, same with the Dutch.
January 5, 2022
There wasnāt a problem before this governments idiotic green revolution
January 5, 2022
One only has to look at how they behaved over CV19 and PPE destined for Italy. The French seized a shipment to them and the Germans banned any exports of PPE even to other EU Members.
United in diversity, my arse !
January 5, 2022
Good questions. I look forward to seeing you and other like-minded MPs putting them to Kwarteng at the next Business Questions. Below freezing here today and no wind. This term, I want to see the government:
(1) Auditing every ‘Green’ scheme it has, looking at cost vs benefits.
(2) Committing to keep the reserve coal-fired stations available past 2025, until adequate, resilient generating capacity is in available to replace them.
(3) Ordering ‘full speed ahead’ with a long-term SMR programme.
(4) Developing ‘fracking’ in this country – possibly so that it can be used as our ‘strategic gas reserve’.
(5) Developing all offshore oil and gas reserves.
(6) Opening new coal mines, with the aim of reducing our coal imports.
(7) Retreating from the ban the ICE car and gas boilers policies.
(8) Banning China and Russia from having any further involvement in our Energy industry.
(9) And establishing a ‘Climate Change Refbuttal Unit’ so that Kwarteng and Johnson don’t have to get their Energy policies from left-wing puppets.
That will do for starters, I’m cold and off for a cuppa.
January 5, 2022
All sensible. Particularly a rebuttal unit of sensible engineers and scientists to refute all the climate alarmist drivel we get fed endlessly by the BBC, P. Charles & Greta types and to analyse and cost the practicality of our energy and net zero policies. The same is needed for our Knighted Covid boffins who have made many serious errors.
To point out for example that keeping your old car longer almost always saves more CO2 than causing a new EV cars to be built. EV vehicles are emissions elsewhere cars.
Reported today Mercedes have plans for an electric car that has a range of 620+ miles. So almost certainly a very large battery and very expensive. Perhaps three times the cost, weight, mined materials and much three times the battery depreciation rate, energy losses and charge times. So most of the year on small journeys you are carrying this extra weight round making it less efficient.
A hybrid car that can do the city miles on battery say up to 40 miles and the distance on fossil fuels (and refill in minutes) seems to make rather more sense to me. Saving circa 90% of the battery costs, weight, the dirty mining of materials and very large battery depreciation and financing cost.
This Merc. battery could then more usefully be split into 16 batteries for 16 hybrid cars with small petrol engines for the more occasional distance travel.
January 5, 2022
Good points. A hybrid, with graphene battery, would float my eco-boat when I replace my Jaguar XE in 12 years’ time. If I no longer felt the need to do long journeys, I’d go full-electric.
January 5, 2022
And I fully respect your freedom of choice to buy an electric carā¦.but please continue to fight to allow me the freedom of choice to buy an ICE car
January 5, 2022
+1
But rememberā¦.no one is safe until we are ALL safeā¦or some such utter b*ll*cks!
January 5, 2022
You can buy a new petrol car – until 2030. After that you can buy a second hand one. And seeing that you are probably in your 70s you likely wonāt have to worry beyond that.
January 5, 2022
L/L. The sheer weight of the car will do a lot of damage to roads and yet they still pay no road tax.
January 5, 2022
With lithium prices continuing to soar such a car now looks to be unaffordable for too many. One thing when it was a design concept a year ago, when the lithium price was around $6,000/tonne. Quite another today at over $43,000/tonne.
January 5, 2022
My 1600 estate car cost me Ā£7000 second hand and I expect to keep it going for 15 years. I use it for all sorts of things like taking the dog for a hike but I also use it for my annual holiday camping in the UK (I fly possibly once every four years.)
Andy thinks I should stretch to a Tesla estate and pay the costs upfront. Andy thinks everyone pays 40-60 thousand pounds for their car.
Mmmm. I prefer someone else to pay my depreciation up front and recycle my car… and not fly.
Better for my pocket and better for my carbon footprint.
January 6, 2022
+1
January 5, 2022
And likely UK price of this proposed Merc with 600 miles range?
– charging time after a drive to Scotland? – compared to my 2 minutes fill up of 60 litres in any old service station. I’ll be doing that again end of Feb.
January 5, 2022
You are such a BS artist, where do you get your 3x numbers from or do you just concoct this stuff?
Meanwhile, an article in Autocar describes the new car (the EQXX) as having a 100 KWh battery 50% the dimensional size and 35% lighter, not heavier, than the existing EQS. The improved range comes from the reduced battery weight and body shell design. No indication of cost but it’s a Mercedes so what do you expect.
Splitting the battery into 16 units would give you around 6 kWh per battery and with a city car you’d be lucky to get 3.5-4 miles per kWh, so 20-24 miles range rather than your 40.
January 5, 2022
Sorry Sea Warrior, but Father Christmas has already been and left again! Your list will have to wait another year.
Also, you can drop your no. 1, I’m afraid. This government doesn’t do cost vs benefit, as we have seen with Covid.
January 5, 2022
Indeed āThis government doesnāt do cost vs benefit, as we have seen with Covidā and our energy policy, the net zero agenda, the climate change Act, the largely worthless degrees, the ~ 3 jobs destroyed/exported for every āgreenā job created. Most of what government does is a huge net negative.
January 5, 2022
Your points should be current government policy…..however we have a labour/green party of government
January 5, 2022
It’s not too difficult; as in other cases we have become dependent upon our European neighbours for energy because for six decades we have been led by politicians who want us to become economically dependent on our neighbours in order to further their overt/covert europhile/eurofederalist geopolitical agenda.
Some of them are so desperate to get all of us back under EU control as soon as possible that they are determined that Northern Ireland should remain a kind of EU outpost from which the reconquest could eventually be launched. After all it is the argument of both the EU and some members of the present avowedly ‘Brexiteer’ UK government that Northern Ireland is now in a uniquely favourable position, getting the ‘best of both worlds’ with dual market access for its exports:
https://ec.europa.eu/info/system/files/benefits_of_protocol.pdf
When the reporter asked Michael Gove why the rest of the UK could not also enjoy that massive economic benefit he evaded the question:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jxViSQRL08
January 5, 2022
Sounds as though government since 2010 has been caught napping, with Labour and Libdems too frightened of carbon to fill the gap. It’s an open goal for Labour, for goodness sake! Watch for the about turn on a sixpence Starmer does and your party will be caught out, napping still.
January 5, 2022
And in related news we are reminded that Gove and Johnson specifically promised that a āBrexit dividendā would be reducing vat on energy.
Today we learn that wasnāt the truth.
January 5, 2022
Nor were the no tax/NI rise manifesto promises. Vast tax increases and allowance inflation reductions have come from this dire tax, borrow and piss down the drain Chancellor Sunak.
January 5, 2022
Youāre only learning about Brexit untruths today? Bless.
January 5, 2022
Andy. Oh you mean like your truths of no prescriptions, falling house prices and no flights in or out of Europe? Oh yes, we’re learning
January 5, 2022
We are doing mighty fine compared with what we might have had to put up, Ā£15 billion plus on a ratchet as a starter.
Unlike the poor people of Iraq still suffering after 20 years following your hero Blairās āillegalā war and of course Afghanistan.
January 5, 2022
and you ignore what we all knew would hit the EU:-
German car production down 11.3% followed by 23.5 %, numbers at 2016 5.7m, 2017 5.6m, 2018 5.1m, 2019 4.7m, 2020 3.5m
French wine sales – 2017 lowest since 1945. 2019 11% down on 2018, 2021 down 29% on 2020.
2018 produced 44m hectolitresm down to 33 m in 2021.
Dutch Flower sales – Uk now dropped to only 10th amongst the biggest importer Countries.
Going really well, isn’t it.
January 5, 2022
The point is that this COULD BE a ‘Brexit dividend’, and the only reason it isn’t is not because of any inherent failure of Brexit, but because Boris is a TRAITOR who has betrayed Britain and FAILED to deliver the Brexit we voted for. That is why Boris must go and be replaced by someone who WILL act upon the freedoms that Brexit now gives us.
We could, for instance, abolish the plethora of cretinous green levies, that actually cost bill-payers even more than VAT. Boris’s fanatical fervour for green taxes is destyroying our economy and impoverishing the British people. He hass betrayed us and has to go.
January 5, 2022
Since the direction of travel was set several decades ago, whilst we were a member of the EU and it was never expected we would leave, this appears to be another example of the EU creating deliberate inter-dependence intended to strengthen the union by weakening individual members.
(And after a few minutes trawling the net I found the following 100 page document with a forward by Jacques Delors “Energy Solidarity in Europe: From Independence to Interdependence.” )
As we are no longer a member of the EU, we should be reducing our dependence on “our friends” in the EU and strengthening this country by restoring energy independence/security.
January 5, 2022
+1
I hope your last para is correct.
They are fannying about with something called the āU.K.-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assemblyā which sounds very bad indeed.
Why is it even allowed?
January 5, 2022
Defence and security ā weāre getting invaded daily, we have to import energy to keep the lights on, we canāt alter our tax system due to alignment treaty with the EU, our government has been infiltrated by the green partyā¦. what is this government for ? what is its long term vision ?
And as you suggest, they want us to rejoin the EU via the back door using the TCA
January 5, 2022
+1
Seems horribly likely.
It really doesnāt feel as if we have left.
January 5, 2022
+1
January 5, 2022
Whilst the government breaks yet another manifesto promise re the triple lock, the energy cap is expected to rise by approx 50%. Which effectively means our bills will rise in a similar fashion. Blaming international price increases when home production has been suppressed is another example of Borisās dishonesty.
January 5, 2022
Allegedly, but if we are honest we would say that the whole windfarm project was a failure from day-1 – As it simply could not be relied on at times of most need.
It was the recently knighted blair that took us down this route of relying on windmills, with subsequent governments following his inept lead, lemming like. Yet one more disaster from the man that had already done so much harm to the UK – No wonder so many have signed the petition to have his Knighthood rescinded.
If we are to become energy independent, then we need to invest realistically in developing brand new technologies, not expecting our often sour neighbours to help us out or rely on a useless technology that was always going to fail us.
One of the main jobs of government is our safety, which includes everything from basic needs like food and heat, to the defence of our land. Successive governments since Thatcher have been getting this very wrong, and I have no belief that this government will get right even a fraction of these duties.
January 5, 2022
Only a few MPs will remember the winter of 1977 when we had several 3 and 4 hour power cuts every day in a very cold winter and it was extremely inconvenient and damaging to the economy. Then it was because of industrial action and now we are heading into a similar crisis entirely due to our past membership of the EU and the inaction of the last three or four governments relying on our neighbours to supply us.
We have just had a very calm autumn, but we were lucky, as it was unseasonably warm and we got through without any power outages. With the current weather cycle there is every chance that several high pressure systems could become stationary over the UK for weeks at a time coupled with a strong northerly air flow.
The current pig-headed government policy needs to be abandoned or we will have several winters like 1977, the effects of which will make the pandemic look like a picnic.
January 5, 2022
We had rather more under Heath’s Tories, don’t you recall?
January 5, 2022
You mean a ‘Scargill outage’.
January 5, 2022
Mick McGahey was NUM leader during Heath’s Three Day Week.
January 6, 2022
Martin – I didn’t say he wasn’t, I merely refer to the power outages as ‘a Scargill outage’ quite appropriate isn’t it ?
McGahey was never NUM President surely, yes a leader among many vying for the big job. Gormley was most of the time.
January 5, 2022
NLH
Indeed you are correct, but the Tories under a certain Mrs Thatcher sorted that out in due course, so the miners/Scargill won the battle with Heath, but eventually lost the War ?
January 6, 2022
Yes, well I remember the checkpoints at motorway exits around Nottingham, and being stopped by “police”, and asked my business as to where I was going and why.
The party of “freedom” eh?
January 6, 2022
It was wearing the Scargill flat cap that gave the game away Martin.
January 5, 2022
Weāve allowed ourselves to become dependent on imports for just about everything.
Shouldāve kept the Corn Laws!
January 5, 2022
Possibly the biggest beneficiary of the repeal of the Corn Laws was Tsarist Russia-we began importing huge amounts of Black Sea grain!
January 5, 2022
+1
Interesting.
Much to the detriment of the Russian livestock I dare say!
Also ironic.
Corn Law debate = āDownton Abbeyā v āOliver Twistā (I have read).
Repeal = pro poor progressive.
And here we sitā¦.mired in communism!!
January 5, 2022
1. Why can’t Boris reduce VAT on domestic heating to 10%?
2. The other day a poster called Mark said that the UK are paying the French, Belgians, Dutch and Norwegians to take electricity we cannot use? Is this true, why can’t we use it, why can’t we sell it?
3. Mark also wrote that we paid windfarms to shut down – Ā£4,642,172 on New Years Day is this true? What on earth are we doing here? Why can’t we preserve other fuel stores and stop importing from the EU and use this windpower on the days the wind blows? His source was the Renewable Energy Foundation using figures from Elexon.
January 5, 2022
I find that strange too that windfarms should be subsidised not to generate. Why not use the spare power to smelt aluminium or liquefy air? The liquefied air could be evaporated and the high pressure air could turn turbines to generate electricity when the wind isn’t blowing. Plenty of dry ice for the food industry as a by-product.
January 5, 2022
Aluminium smelting requires a constant reliable cheap supply. Wind offers none of those, especially if you confine it to periods of surplus.
Energy storage required to cope with variations in wind becomes massive and expensive. You can tinker around the edges, especially while maximum wind generation is limited below the minimum levels of demand, but once you start having more significant surpluses at times of low demand it is usually cheaper to curtail than to store, whatever the storage scheme.
January 5, 2022
Because VAT on domestic gas and electric is 5%.
January 5, 2022
Thanks acorn, keying in too many business electricity bills!
I also incorrectly assumed reading the Guardian PMQs – with Rayner saying that the government had put up taxes. Vat on energy bills makes gas & electricity more expensive… that vat had gone up to 20%.
I wonder how much is raised from the 5% VAT energy bills on domestic users? Can you save me a look up and tell me?
January 5, 2022
At a very rough guess using HMRC ready reckoner indicates the 5% Vat rate is worth about Ā£1.7 billion. I don’t currently have a breakdown of the 5% on energy bit.
January 5, 2022
Spain already have. VAT reduced from 21% to 10% last year. The myth that this is an EU tax is just another brexit lie.
January 5, 2022
We do sell some of the surplus electricity – but when surpluses are widespread that can mean selling at negative prices. Surpluses mainly occur at night when demand is low, but winds can be high. There is often curtailment simply because the transmission lines (particularly from Scotland) cannot cope with the quantity of generation – they would melt with power overload. The rules allow many wind farms to make a profit despite the surplus and the negative prices, so instead of having the incentive to curtail they have to be paid to do so. The rules are crazy. They are amending them for the next CFD round so that new wind farms built under that round will get no compensation if prices are negative, but the old regimes will continue anyway for existing wind farms and CFDs for ones about to be built. Expect a lot of gaming of the system so that prices are just barely positive to extract maximum subsidy. Also, expect wind farms to take note of this effective reduction in subsidy and profitable generating hours, and to price their bids accordingly.
January 5, 2022
In a zero carbon world we will have to rely on each other for power.
Many times the wind will blow – and when it does we can export power to our continental friends and partners.
But when the wind doesnāt blow we will need to import hydro power from Norway or geothermal power from Iceland or solar power from the Med.
The Tory dinosaurs who have done so much damage to our relationships with our friends will not be in government much longer. Many of them will not be in Parliament. Sharing with our friends is a no-brainer. It is only a problem for fools.
January 5, 2022
Your comments are noted comrade
January 5, 2022
‘sharing with our friends?’
The cables to USA and Australia would be rather long….
January 5, 2022
These brextremists and their thralls are unable to see any people to whom the word “foreign” might be applied as anything other than enemies.
Even when the UK was in a union with them, they still saw folk like the Dutch and the Danes as such.
However, they didn’t the Canadians and Australians for some reason, even though we were not in one with them.
What funny people they are.
So they simply don’t want any form of beneficial co-operation with them.
January 5, 2022
What all 17 million NHL ?
How do you know?
Or is this another example of your prejudices against a particular group of people you dislike.
Smearing a whole group with generalised negative comments….now what do we normally call that?
January 5, 2022
About 8 GW of interconnectors will be in service by midyear. The government target is 18 GW by 2030 which looks like being met. The ESO has 33 GW of interconnector projects scoping for grid connections. All three gas import pipes are now upgraded to two way interconnectors.
GB is fully integrated into the European energy infrastructure by long term design. Please don’t let Brexit isolationism bugger it up.
January 5, 2022
acorn, the EU leaders have repeatedly told the UK are a 3rd country France especially, so we can’t rely or trust them, France and Germany cut off our mask supply when we need them in the most urgent first few covid months. You can’t seriously hope to leave such an important British need in the control of Macron? I think you should look to who is actually bu**ering things up regularly, Christmas chaos for transport drivers (until they discovered the majority of them were EU based not UK drivers) in 2020, Christmas holidays cut in 2021 for Brits at the drop of a hat – even those testing negative, business travel still cut now.
January 5, 2022
Part 2 I don’t believe Brexit is isolationist I believe it is globalist and I don’t mind buying from all over the World including Europe when level playing fields are in place and not slanted to one nation’s advantage, but BUT I do think we should be as UK company/UK shareholder self-reliant as possible on essentials – water, energy, clean air, sewerage, supermarkets and essential transport.
January 5, 2022
You have consistently voted to allow global capital’s owners to choose to make a swift buck in the UK by owning these undertakings if they so wish though.
Haven’t you?
January 6, 2022
I note you forget the dividends paid to shareholders NHL
Individual savers and many pension funds.
January 5, 2022
Of what benefit is it to the UK as a sovereign country to be part of an integrated EU energy infrastructure, to be dependent on the likes of France for our critical energy resources?
January 5, 2022
I do not wish to be held hostage to sky high energy prices and risk of power rationing because the EU decides to outbid us having messed up their own supplies. Norway has already found that having a large amount of interconnection with the EU (Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Finland) and the UK is disadvantageous for their own domestic prices and security of supply. The mood in Norway is for no further interconnectors to be built, and to try to limit the use of the ones they have. Nor do I wish to subsidise exports to the EU at negative prices when the wind does blow. Let us have a rational amount of wind in our system, which is probably less than we already have.
January 5, 2022
The problem is for the fools who do not understand that weather systems span large areas. That means it is often windless across much of Europe, or very windy across much of Europe. In the former case wind farms aren’t much use. In the latter, they drive down prices to zero or below, so earn no real income.
Yesterday I posted some calculations of the storage we would have required to survive off wind and storage. The battery option would have cost about Ā£8.5 trillion, assuming that you could buy enough batteries at last year’s price. With lithium prices having risen by a factor of 7 over the year… I hope you can do the maths.
January 5, 2022
Indeed. The French are wonderful, reliable friends.
January 5, 2022
Macron even likes to use our vernacular ‘pissed off’ – a true friend.
January 5, 2022
Mike, I have always found the French Population OK, it”s the French politicians who are the problem, they never got over the fact that we did not capitulate to Germany.
January 6, 2022
been to Paris, have you?
January 5, 2022
The exposure and promotion of such facts with honesty and belief is of vital importance. Further details of our countryās serious state of affairs will I trust greatly help to change attitudes particularly in government and our leadership. They must start to care and act.
This has been brought about in ways in recent decades by a prevailing state of mind and belief among many that it makes no difference where things are produced. This is very much evident among the wealthy and the elites and in the City who travel the world with ease. They are copied by many who believe their social status can be raised by patronising foreign products which they consider fashionable ā they donāt do the same with home-made items.
It is a state of mind we must change.
January 5, 2022
Why are we so dependent on imports ?
Ans – Spiv UK capitalism.
It was obviously going to lead to this situation. I have been telling you for many years.
January 5, 2022
”Why are we so dependent on imports ?”
So we can claim to the world that we’ve meet our CO2 net zero targets
January 5, 2022
That’s a truism me ol’ flower.
All capitalism would be spiv capitalism if it were not for laws to regulate it and for authorities to police it.
How well do you think that this “government” do on those last?
January 6, 2022
Silly comment NHL
There have been laws for centuries.
We live in a democratic mixed economy .
January 6, 2022
Yes, we last had capitalism in the 1840s in Lancashire.
January 5, 2022
The situation we find ourselves in is down to politicians and civil servants classing the UK as a province of the EU. Not surprising as this was what they had shepherded us into until July 2016 and continued to deny reality until the present day. Brexit is not done due to a lethargy hanging over Downing Street, where no in depth planning took placs to achieve it. Current politicians prefer to continue with the incestuous present relationship. I will not bore you all with the details as we visit them on a daily basis.
January 5, 2022
Off topic but I’m expecting an announcement today about ‘pre-departure’ COVID testing. Will Grant Shapps make an announcement in the Commons, saving himself a Hoyling? Will he go to the podium in No 10, allowing the Press to ask him questions? Or will he just tweet?
Removal of the ‘pre-departure’ requirement doesn’t go far enough; the Day 2 requirement has to go too – at least for those returning to ‘Plague Island’ from places with far lower infection rates.
January 5, 2022
Competently done by the government today – and more in the direction of the right decision than I expected.
January 5, 2022
Importing electricity rather than producing it ourselves is of course part of the Marxist Britphobes at the BEISās Net Zero Strategy plan to destroy our economy and make us reliant on hostile states to weaken our position wherever possible.
We currently need about 40GW of electricity. The Net Zero Strategy plan is for 40GW of offshore wind by 2030 which will only produce the equivalent of 20GW continuous. The contributions from nuclear, solar and imports will not produce the 20GW balance or deal with grid balancing or when the wind doesnāt blow and so we will still be relying on fossil fuel generators. Let us hope we do not Carrie on demolishing them/selling them off to Germany.
However, the Net Zero Strategy plan is to have a āfully decarbonised power systemā by 2035, just 5 years later, for when BEIS expects a 40-60% increase in demand of electrical energy through population increase, the use of evs and heat pumps etc.
But there is no mention in the Strategy for the number of windmills that will be required or how grid stabilisation and long-term backup will be provided using ālow carbon sourcesā.
But then Boreas and the current civil servants at BEIS will not be about in 2035, or even 2030.
January 5, 2022
Roger H
And to top it all,Hinkley B is coming off this year.
January 5, 2022
Hunterston B is closing this week. That will reduce Scotland’s secure supplies. Perhaps the clip of Sturgeon blowing up the chimney at Longannet will become a symbol of her blowing up the future of Scotland more widely.
January 5, 2022
Off-topic:
Brexit should be our number one issue and we shouldnāt get side-tracked with energy, Covid, and net-zero. These are just distractions to take our eye off the ball. We may have won the Brexit battle but the war is far from over.
Iām very worried about the direction Brexit is going under Borisās leadership. He was elected to get Brexit done but under the cloak of the Christmas festivities he has agreed a new fishing deal, which the EU seems happy with, which canāt, therefore, be good for the UK, and he has allowed a new UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly (PPA) to be established.
This PPA is to look at how the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) is to be progressed.
The questions I have are:
1) Why is this needed for the EU but not for any other countries’ trade agreement?
2) How can it be fair to Brexiteers when it has 21 MPs (12 Tories, 7 Labour, 2 other parties) and 14 peers (6 Tories, 8 others) plus devolved assemblies observer status on the UK side with 35 MEPs on the EU side. As we know our opposition parties are pro-EU so this gives a large majority to the EU before we even start. What happened to Boris with his 80 seat majority taking back control?
3) We already have a Comprehensive Partnership Council with Liz Truss as our representative doing this same role, so why do we need this other body? Is she set to be undermined like David Davis was under Teresa May?
4) Why are we allowing the EU control over our country but we have no control over them?
I understand Peter Bone is fighting against this PPA but we need more big hitters to stop this in its tracks before the UK is subsumed back under EU control. The public is being kept in the dark about this development. I know some will say this group is only advisory but that just seems a waste of taxpayer money and I can only think itās just a matter of time before we are sold out to their pro-EU ideas. They are already talking about giving the group decision-making powers.
To say I am disappointed with this direction of travel is an understatement. What is the point of voting for a Government if can be bypassed like this?
January 5, 2022
The absolute state of your post. What an embarrassment to our country. Deluded.
January 5, 2022
+1
January 5, 2022
Oh Christine, what depressing reading. Not heard of this PPA – what slight of hand is this, just another way Boris thinks he can pass the buck when he doesnāt get Brexit done and we gave him the sovereignty to get back control of borders, taxes, vat etc and heās just frittering it away – why?
Why does he allow Macron stop Brits travelling to France for Business but take no retaliatory action. Iām sick of it.
January 5, 2022
On the subject of Manifesto Failures, our fast on her negotiating feet Foreign Secretary should approach any country willing to earn a few quid with a view to shipping all illegals by air to their shores. It would solve a problem and send a message ending the present border fiasco. She would get the undying gratitude of the majority of the UK population and all future genuine asylum seekers.
January 5, 2022
agricola :
Agreed.
Its implementation would stop Channel crossings within days.
But this won’t happen because this would curtail a lot of people in the UK making a lot of money from this illegal trade, and I’m not talking about the people smugglers.
January 5, 2022
Without doubt the best Christmas present the UK has received this year is the news that the EU has come to its senses and will classify gas (methane/natural gas) as green energy.
The most damaging aspect of the Marxist Britphobes at BEISā Net Zero Strategy was the knowingly impossible scheme to fully decarbonise our electrical power supply by 2035 through the use of expensive, low energy density, intermittent and unreliable windmills with as yet no plans for grid stability or long-term backup.
The EU decision means we can now use gas to produce reliable electricity and continue to efficiently heat our buildings without the need to replace our gas boilers with ineffective heat pumps.
With regard to vehicles we could program to convert all existing ic engines to use natural gas with relative ease and thus reduce pollution without the need to scrap our vehicles and replace with sub-optimal evs with all the problems of cost, range anxiety, overnight charging, mineral/metal supply, charging points and having to increase grid capacity.
It also means that it will weaken Chinaās position they have gained as a result of controlling 90% of global supplies of rare earth metals.
January 5, 2022
……. learn to govern in the UKās interests, rather than those of the EU …. ( Mr Gardner’s comment above ) The will is quite obviously not there. We are being undermined at every turn. Increasing oversight by the EU all approved by the person at the top presumably. Where else does it receive sanction. How does this newly set up EU/UK Joint Partnership Assembly sit with this mission creep. A call for a closer relationship, closer ties, with the EU although with an initial intention of it not being a decision making body but already with ‘calls’ for it to be quite the opposite. Look at the numbers of people to be involved with this, at what cost. I hope they all find their future sojourn/s in Strasbourg & London uplifting. In the Telegraph on 02 Dec 2021 was a paragraph in the paper’s article headed ‘Macron accuses Prime Minister of using France as a scapegoat’ and ” Mr Macron reportedly added: In private, he says he is sorry to act this way but he admits that above all he must cater to his public opinion ” Says a lot.
January 5, 2022
Dear Sir John,
Your four questions are surely vital ones. But is there anyone in government you could trust to give you an honest answer to them? Or would you just get a statement put together by Sir Humphrey and Bernard to keep us all quiet?
January 5, 2022
In the news today a large coal port in Australia has signed a deal with a wind farm to generate all of its energy needs by renewable energy. What have our government done to facilitate the use of excessive wind energy within the UK so that they don’t have to pay to turn them off or pay to send the energy abroad?
January 5, 2022
A Danish company has just tried to lease one of the northern Kuril Islands(between Japan and Russia)to build a wind farm for the Green Hydrogen market.Japan is looking to be an early user and the nearby Russian island of Sakhalin is being developed as a centre of supply (Mitsubishi is involved and if I remember correctly Air Liquide has also signed an MoU).Russia intends to be a leader in this market(there’s even research under way for green hydrogen powered trains on Sakhalin) but it’s interest is mainly in exporting the stuff.
Anyway,the Danes have got a big NYET!
January 5, 2022
Thanks Mitchell, yet weāre wasting windmill energy and other people are charging us to take it, I canāt believe what I read most days now!
January 5, 2022
It’s just another greenwash deal. In reality, They are just buying certificates that the wind farm generated some power, while the power they actually get will depend on what is generating locally. In New South Wales that’s mostly coal or solar. The wind farm is quite some distance from the port.
January 5, 2022
Like most other Conservative voters posting here, I am thoroughly fed up with reading your sensible and mature posts on almost every subject in the full knowledge that the government run by the party, of which you are a member, is either doing the complete opposite or nothing at all !
We cannot go on with the Green Crap Agenda, NI increases and interest rate rises when millions of voters are shortly going to face a dramatic reduction in their standard of living caused by the huge increases in energy costs that are coming down the line. It cannot be that Boris believes that the next election will be lost whatever he does, nor can he be thinking that he can win the election anyway. Nothing is certain in electoral politics.
However, it seems certain that he will lose the Red Wall seats and many more because he is doing nothing to protect voters from the prospects of becoming impoverished.
We need a complete change of policy now otherwise even more damage will be done following the ridiculous own goals he has scored over alledged sleaze and his ultimately fruitless support for Dominic Cummings.
If Boris is not prepared to take the necessary action now, the Cabinet and 1922 must ensure that he stands aside and allows another PM to take over.
January 5, 2022
+1
January 6, 2022
I said in a previous post that they have 6 months to turn this around. That’s it ! – 6 Months.
January 5, 2022
Sir John, sorry this is off-topic, but I am absolutely furious at the government’s latest stupidity and treason:
As you may know, the EU has just introduced a ban on a range of coloured tattoo inks. This opens up a wonderful economic opportunity for the UK. We could become Europe’s tattoo industry capital, with large revenues from ‘tattoo tourism’, as all EU citizens who want coloured tattoos will be forced to come here to have them done. I do not have any tattoos myself (and have zero intention of getting one!) but I believe in freedom of choice and can see an economic opportunity when it comes gift-wrapped!
But what is the cretin George Eustice (whose policy area this comes under, for some reason) doing? He has launched a review to see if the UK should follow the EU. Is the man mentally retarded or just a traitor? We should NEVER copy ANYTHING that the EU does. The more we vcan differentiate ourselves the better, as that will create more economic opportunities for us. The government clearly does NOT believe in Brexit. What are you going to do about this?
January 5, 2022
X-Tory
Just wait until we adopt the speed Limiters on New Cars due to be introduced within the EU later this year !
January 6, 2022
Will Porsche and BMW comply?
January 6, 2022
In theory the driver sets the maximum speed control to restrict the car, not automatic observance of signed speed limits.
January 5, 2022
“One of the reasons for the increase in imports was the poor performance of wind power.”
The whole windmill industry would collapse if the government ran windmill auctions properly with the wind power suppliers guaranteeing a continuous fixed amount of energy and thus being responsible for the costs of their own variability and intermittency.
At the moment the fossil fuel generators are effectively subsidising wind energy and cheaply too because the non-fossil fuel grid stabilisation and back-up solutions are unbelievably expensive.
January 5, 2022
When the wind blows a bit too hard a Wind turbine has to be shut down. With climate change the wind is blowing harder and more often. So output from turbines likely to fall over time.
We still have to pay the green electricity providers even when they are not supplying electricity when it is blowing a gale and generation shut down.
Interesting that the Dutch are able to supply the UK and themselves. Are they better at building windmills ? š
To allow the UK to be so dependent on other countries for electricity is a failure of Governments past and present to protect a key Strategic Utility from outside influence. The Dutch are reasonably friendly to the UK , can’t say the same for the French. The French threaten to cut off supply to the channel Islands over a fishing dispute. Will the Dutch cut off supply if we tell them to stop sending there industrial size trawlers to fish in UK waters ?
January 5, 2022
O Dear, here we go again Sir John.
Just heard the PM whom you wish success say that he does not intend to increase home gas production. He’s just going to take a long term view and build more renewable sources.
‘Boris’ is unable to change. He must be changed for someone else.
His performance at Questions was very poor. All he does is loose his rag, waffle and shout.
January 5, 2022
@Prangwizard – yep .. the UK urgently needs its own reliable energy. At the moment, renewables do not fit the bill.
I do not know why the PM is refusing to increase UK gas production (and prefers to import energy instead). It may be that he has made some COP26 promises…. and he feels he is unable to go back on his word ?
Hopefully, his replacement will not have made similar promises.
January 5, 2022
From the gov-dot-uk energy statistics XL spreadsheet:-
In 2020, the UK generated 75,610 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity from both offshore and onshore wind. According to the National Grid, 2020 was the “greenest year on record” for Britain, with record high levels of wind energy generation
Wind energy generation accounted for 24% of total electricity generation (including renewables and non-renewables) in 2020; with offshore wind accounting for 13% and onshore wind accounting for 11%. Non-metered wind is estimated at an additional 2.5%
Landfill gas, sewage sludge digestion gas, energy from waste gas, anerobic digestion gas, plant biomass gas contributed 195GW of green gas in 2021, assuming 48GW in Q4 2021
Solar PV generated 11,450GWh in 2020 or 9.8% of electricity demand
Renewables share of electricity generation was 35.9 per cent in the first three quarters of 2021
Landfill gas, sewage sludge digestion gas, Energy from waste gas, Anerobic Digestion, Plant Biomass contributed 195GW of green gas assuming 48GW in Q4 2021
During 2020 wind had a load factor of 42.3%
Renewable energy is the cheapest form of energy available to us by far, because the inputs DO NOT have to be imported. If you can’t understand this, or appreciate one of the greatest success stories of the British economy since the turn of the century, you should not be one of the fossil fuel industry’s “useful idiots” because renewable energy is most definately hitting their profits
reply We import the equipment needed for windmills and you ignore the high costs of stand by capacity for when the wind does not blow
January 5, 2022
Criminalise woke authoritarianism before it destroys British culture and freedom. This virus is tearing our world apart
The Tories must embrace the silent majority and their instincts. The party must oppose the woke minority before these wrectches destroy all that is good and decent
January 5, 2022
Under this Tory government, Oxford is set to charge all non-electric vehicle drivers in the UKās first āZero emissions zoneā from next month
Remind me again why Iām paying Vehicle Fund Licence (car tax) when Iām not allowed to drive the Queens highway
January 6, 2022
Cyclists use the Queen’s highway, have special road and pavements allocated to them, but they don’t pay either!
January 5, 2022
So China has just started operating the first SMR in the world and are launching more next year. As I have pointed out before Russia has launched floating nuclear reactor(s) which are powering town(s).
Why is it going to take nearly a decade before we have our first operational SMR – despite RR having developed the technology?
It seems to me that there is still far too much time wasted on debates about the EU – which we left because it is a declining power (relatively) rather than looking at where the real competition is.
We were able to cut red tape and be world leaders when it came to developing and implementing vaccines – so why are we being left behind on energy?
January 6, 2022
No red tape was cut developing Covid vaccine in Oxford, merely the wonderful achievements of a variety of diligent medical and specialist researchers doing activities in parallel and not waiting to perform all aspects a often year after each. Read Sarah Gilbert’s book!
January 6, 2022
Russia’s Rosatom has a huge global order book-approaching $140bn(exc domestic projects).From it’s website:
“Today Russia is leading in new nuclear construction.ROSATOM holds first place in terms of the number of simultaneously implemented nuclear reactor projects(three units in Russia and 35 abroad at various implementation stages……Bangladesh,China,Belarus,Egypt,Finland,Hungary,India and Turkey.”
January 5, 2022
Interesting in The Times today: David Aaronovitch on England’s collective amnesia about Ireland. Has there ever been a less-celebrated centenary? Would be interesting to hear our host’s views on the relationship between England and Ireland and how it might be improved.
January 6, 2022
Will
Our relationship with Ireland has always been one about both religion and security. With Catholic France to the East, and Catholic Ireland to the west, one had to be neutralised if protestant England AND Scotland were to survive. Since then the continentals have used Ireland as a stick to beat us with, right up to the present day.
January 6, 2022
Yet neither Ireland nor France are particularly Catholic these days.
January 5, 2022
One of the drivers of Kazakh unrest is the rising price of liquefied natural gas.
January 5, 2022
Newpaper Headline – Boris backed into a corner over UK energy crisis ā PM caves to Tory fury with emergency plan.
Could this plan include the ideas put forward by Sir John?
No, the plan is for the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak to dip into taxpayers’ pockets to provide extra support for the low-paid.
You really couldnāt make this up.
And people think Rishi Sunak is a PM in waiting.
January 6, 2022
+1
January 6, 2022
it seems that anything where Boris has exercised influence or control always turns out to be a complete mess. Time that we had a truly patriotic PM and government.
January 6, 2022
I’ve been trying to disengage with current affairs for a while. With limited success. I have stopped watching PMQs – I don’t have a TV Licence and, in our democracy, it seems I have to pay the BBC for the privilege of watching PMQs live – even if I am not watching on the BBC.
But, today, having read this morning about Johnson being even more shambolic than usual, I watched it – streamed – on YouTube.
Oh boy! Seriously, Mr. Redwood? You must be embarrassed beyond belief when he starts blustering and talking absolute rubbish. Ā£149 a week for some warmer home allowance? No, it is Ā£149 a year. Saying he had not said inflation was a problem when a clip appears showing him saying exactly that a few months ago. Blaming Labour for screaming for lockdowns – when they have done no such thing and, on the contrary, have meekly followed the government line. Rayner made mincemeat of him yesterday. You must get rid of him. He is beyond a joke.
He will never win you another election. The emperor has no clothes now. People have seen right through him. I’m appalled at the idea that anyone abroad should happen to see PMQs. They must thing the whole country is a joke.