I think had the ConDem's announced this the headlines in the Daily Mail would have been completely different. "Tories stand up to Engergy Fat Cats".
Does he think up his policies whilst having a dump in the morning? The man and his bunch of loonies would bankrupt this country within 18 months. I bet there would be a few unhappy people then when government cant afford to pay their staff. That said he is just the very worst of an appalling bunch of fuckwits eagerly trying to bribe us to vote for them. The truth of the matter is successive governments ( and Labour has been one of the worst for this) have allowed big multinational companies to call the shots for too long and its now got to the stage where government policy would have very little effect on how the economy is run. I shan't be giving Any of them the pleasure of my vote at the next election....not unless the real Raving Loony Party return.
Does it? Just because they have a bit of power it doesn't make them clever or anything special. Why should i place a vote when none of them are even saying, let alone doing, what i want to see happen? I would say that by voting for someone i don't believe in is worse than not voting at all. Its better just to live your life as you wish and not let the bastards grind you down as the saying goes. Don't let them control your life. I'm not sure anyone will lie on their deathbed thinking what a great life they had because their bank account is loaded or because they had some political power once. Life is about the people you meet, the places you see and the things you do.
We need to remember that Red Ed was "Minister for Energy and Climate Change" in the previous government and that lot left us with a legacy of no proper plans for nuclear renewal and entirely unrealistic ambitions to generate huge amounts of wind and solar energy. Clearly we need an improved regulation system that can ensure that pricing is easy to understand, and that providers are encouraged to renew the generating capacity in the right way. However, we can't escape the fact that hydro-carbon fuels are only going to escalate in price, and unless there are any other bright ideas (fusion power still a long way off it seems) then gas fracking may be the only hope for the UK to get energy costs stable/lower (apparently we don't actually pay more for our gas and electrcity than most other Europeans do anyway). It's also important to get some clear understanding of the percentages in this area - for instance we only pay 5% VAT on gas and electricty. Also, when it comes to profits/shareholders/tax, I found it interesting to have a quick look at Centrica's website (British Gas). Now I'm no expert on reading company accounts, but it looks to me as if in 2012 they turned over close to £25billion, made about £2.5 billion profit and paid £1 billion in tax on that. As for the shareholders, they are making 4 or 5% in dividend yield on the value of their shares (which Red Ed has knocked down over the past few days). I'm not speaking as a Centrica supporter or shareholder (except indirectly via pension etc); I just don't see the energy companies as being especially villainous. After all, for a few hundred pounds a year I get electricty to run all sorts of essentials - for a similar amount Apple could sell me a nice new iPhone which I would have to regard as a luxury in comparison. Thinking of British Gas, one thing that also seems crazy to me is the fact that when I was buying my electricity from them a few years ago, they enticed me into having my cavity walls filled. I don't know how much improvement it made, but they only charged about £200 for a job that I am sure must have cost at least two or three times that. It was never clear to me whether tax payers money was getting "given" to me in this way, or whether British Gas had been forced to dish it out at their own expense. I'm sure it was not simply generosity.
What marks out great politicians is vision. Actually, this is what marks out great leaders. I disliked Thatcher intensely, but you couldn't argue that she didn't have vision, in a way that say Callaghan didn't. Blair appeared to have vision, which was why he was voted in 3 times. It was probably mainly fluff - or at least the fluff got in the way of the vision. Must most of them don't have any real vision, in the sense of projecting difficult goals and being determined to achieve them. Major, Brown, Cameron, Milliband or whoever - they will always be also-rans. They tinker around the edges, no one knows what they stand for. I am reading the Steve Jobs biography at the moment (not out of any acolyte zeal it should be pointed out) and it is fascinating. He was clearly an arsehole, but he was an arsehole with a vision and the drive to make it happen. And it did. No one is going to be interested in politics until someone comes along with a true cohesive vision for a better society and starts to implement it. Some people won't like it, but many will. I don't even know what the current crop of politicians really want to achieve. As a marketing guy, finding out what your consumers want is a mantra that underlies nearly all activity. But there are some companies who don't play by these rules, because they don't think that consumers can imagine the future before they have been shown it. Apple is one of these and their products have amazed the world. Nike is another. I suspect that Ducati build more what they want, and less what they think their customers need. The Sony Walkman would never have happened without the conviction of the top man. The executives never wanted to launch it, but it was the basis of the whole personal music industry - i.e. the current music industry and the way people consume music. Politicians these days are governed by focus groups. You can't have a vision just listening to a hotchpotch of what consumers think they want.
I would go as far as to say most politicians now are governed by money, ego and power. Their only interest is staying in power and controlling the lives of ordinary folk. Like you say none appear to have a vision of a better Britain..or even Europe or America from what i can see from afar. The policies of the last 15 years have been shown to be unsustainable worldwide and a complete failure and i suspect for those likely to retire in the next 20 years ( of which I am one) the worst may yet still be to come.
I dont' think so, Pete! But you can't get change if you don't have a vision for change and that has to come from the top. Of course, you can debate whether anyone wants change. Maybe they just want things to stay as they are, or perhaps return to the past. Problem is, the environment changes so that stasis isn't really practicable.
Another interview with Boris by Paxman. Another hilarious few minutes. Boris is by far the most amusing and charismatic politician there has been in my lifetime. A pity he's a Tory. The difference with Boris is that he actually says about as much of what he really thinks as he reckons he can get away with in this PR regulated time - and quite often more. It is interesting that he alone can get Paxman eating out of his hand - like a straight man in a comedy act. You look at Boris' CV of real achievement and it looks so different to that of Milliband, Cameron or Clegg. He really seems to knuckle down to his job as London mayor and is such an advocate for the city. I reckon the Tories need Boris. If anyone would sink Farage without trace, Boris would. I am fairly sure he will become leader of the Tories at some stage. Doesn't look as if he'll lead them in the next election, but I'm pretty sure the Tories would get in if he did. He is a politician and ipso facto untrustworthy. But politicians are a necessary evil and if you've got to have one, I'd sooner Boris was running the country rather than anyone else, even if I disagree with some of his views. At least he does rather than just talk about it. If Farage continues to gain ground - will there be a swell of support for Boris?
