Are the energy companies slipping brown envelopes to members of the Cabinet?

Question

Because it looks very much like it - no windfall tax, no price regulation, no sign of the Government taking command in a horrendous situation for everyone except the very rich?

Answer 1

not necessary, they're winning on every front, I agree with re- nationalisation, why should people profit from a human's basic needs.

Answer 2

The price of fuel is still mostly tax - so they are taking the lion's share anyway.  They just rob us and then help themselves to the money.  

Answer 3

good god  do you think all politicians are dishonest ? or just the vast majority shall we say 99% to give them the benefit of the doubt

Answer 4

What I will never understand about this Nu Labour government is the fact that we all know that Nu Labour are doomed if they don't change.

Yet at the same time why on Earth are they trying to pursue policies that are designed to appeal to the middle class's and big business.

The Labour party is staring into the abyss of electoral destruction, and one of the few things that it could have done, to at least give itself half a chance of surviving as a credible party after the next general election is help with Gas/Electric bills to the lowest paid in society, who strange as it might seem used to be Labours Bread and Butter voters, yet with a whim they dismiss it as a gimmick (is Gorden (Nero) Brown a closet Tory and needs outing).

Or is it far more simple than that,,, are they all BRAIN DEAD.

Answer 5

Probably, although I think that as most of the energy companies are owned by continental Europe that the Brussels dictators are behind this.

The object of the exercise is for the Pound to be devalued to be on par with the Euro and then to impose the Euro on Britain. Brown is just a mouthpiece for Brussels and is no doubt being paid to sell us to Brussels.

Answer 6

i wouldnt doubt it, dont even get me started about our government, what a joke!  and look at health care, bunch of bs, its more profitable to keep patients sick and pump them full of prescription than to cure them.  our government is gear to make money and keep us as mindless sheep to consume their products and keep them rich, so i really wouldnt doubt that members of the cabinet are getting paid off, not only by energy companies, but by almost every corporate business in america, but thats just my opinion  

Answer 7

It would be wrong to issue a windfall tax for so many reasons.

1,  Investment would leave the UK at an alarming rate.  One of the basis of this country is a free market economy and retrospective taxation is wrong and doesn't allow business to forecast and plan.

2.  It is supply and demand the price goes up we pay more.

3.  Prices have risen at below inflation rates for the the previous 10 years there was no calls for us to pay more then.

4.  Why should I pay more so the poor people get free or lower priced energy.  (I am leaving pensioners out of this as they get a winter fuel allowance) but others can get a better job or work two jobs as I have in the past.

5.  If you are going to issue a windfall tax on energy companies why not supermarkets as the price of food is going up and they make profits or any other company that makes a profit

6.  If you did nationalise without compensation what do you think would happen to the value of your pension?  These companies have shares which are mostly owned by the people who are investing your pension.  Additionally most of the profits of these companies is again paid in dividends and boosts the value of your pension.

The real issue here is we need to reduce the amount of energy that we use meaning we pay less in our bills whilst at the same time we need to invest in green renewable energy and the energy companies need cash to do that.

Finally what do you think will happen if a windfall tax is implemented......thats right prices go up even further to cover the lost profits.

A knee jerk reaction is not required here but a thought out long term strategy that cross political parties.

Answer 8

The government has no money. It does not want to isolate and irritate the big companies that are bringing big money in through tax, so it will not introduce a windfall tax. It doesn't want the Shell and BPs of the world to go elsewhere where they won't be taxed for making money. The government seems to think it has been elected to represent the oil companies, not the people who are struggling to pay their fuel bills in summer, let alone when winter sets in....

Time to kick out Mr. Brown and co.?? I think so....

Answer 9

There all on the take...

Answer 10

Every body is jumping on the band-waggon up  prices on anything now we have a moan but its accepted as a way of life now.

Answer 11

They are not as crass as that yet. But you can be sure that some cabinet members and Labour MPs are frantically preparing the ground for the day when they are chucked out of their jobs, something that is inevitable now. So they are negotiating with companies for directorships with fat stipends. Witness what happened to Ken Clark and BAT. The man knew smoking was bad for health but did nothing when he was health secretary. A nod and a wink from BAT and the deal was done. One can see darling's prominent bushy eyebrows twitching from too many winks.

Answer 12

its basically a cartel, they dont need to.  

Answer 13

MPs don,t live in the real world.They won,t go hungry or cold this winter.They don,t use the NHS [other than for publicity stunts],they can afford dental treatment and eye tests.

This will only effect people on or below the poverty line and no political party represents these people because it would mean having to address the imbalance between rich and poor and they are the rich.

Then they will be asking why the increase in crime.

Answer 14

It would not surprise me in the slightest!The sooner we clean up politics the better!

Answer 15

Something is going on, its rediculous the way the prices of gas and electric have gone up, being on a low income I am really worried that this winter I wont be able to afford the heating.  Lord knows what the elderly are going to do, they worry enough about heating bills as it is, without what the prices are going to be.

The government doesnt give a flying fig about the lower paid, hey they dont give a flying fig about anyone.  

Answer 16

Parliament is where you'll find all the country's most successful thieves. it wont change until the British people learn to get off of their Buts and march on the government. they have forgotten who works for who and need a sharp decisive reminder. i cannot believe that the People of Britain allowed the fascist labour party to give their country away to the n**i style EU super state with out the promised referendum. its no wonder that the government assumes it can now do as it pleases. its a simple case of fight for it or lose it.

Answer 17

I noticed that a previous poster mentioned that you should work 2 jobs to pay for the electricity you use

what does that tell us?

that the only answer to all of this is to get another job on top of the one you already have?

laws were put in place that limit the amount of working hours in Europe it is 48 hours per week inclusive of overtime of course you get around this by getting a 2nd job but WTF i want a life outside of working. so perhaps decent wages would be an option?

having to work 14 hours a day just to pay the bills is like slavery and to be honest people who suggest this as an answer to the problem clearly havn't thought it through.

apart from the obvious problems it would cause to health there is the problem that if everyone in the country tried to get a 2nd job there would be more unemployed because people wouldn’t be able to get a 1st job as it was taken by the person working on a 2nd one.

Get a Job is an excuse you hear from people who don’t have answers

re-nationalisation without compensation is the way forward coupled with and investment programme that will concentrate on making us energy self-sufficient using renewable sources [UK is perfectly situated for this and it is feasible]

when you see that utility companies have posted record profits and record payouts to their shareholders [that is official] then you have to ask yourself whether or not the price hikes were in fact as they said due to oil prices or just due to oil profits.