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Dale Vince: Sharon Graham...
Dale Vince
30, June #CostOfLiving

Dale Vince: Sharon Graham...

Sharon Graham @UniteSharon I just heard of a planned protest by Unite on the issue of high energy bills - outside Ecotricity’s office in Stroud. Understand the core issue is ‘profiteering’ and you published a useful table of profits in the overall sector to back your point. If you look at that properly you’ll see that the super high profits, as margins and as £s - are not being made by energy Retailers - where OFGEM controls profit margins to a pretty marginal 2%. The big money and where we have common cause with you - is being made by Extraction (53%), Grid (38%) and Generation (28%). You’re aiming at the wrong target in Retail (2%) and your own data shows that. We’ve published a number of papers on energy market reform, would be happy to share them - we see a way to halve energy bills with three simple (though fundamental) reforms. Wanna chat?
Dale Vince: Sharon Graham...
https://x.com/DaleVince/status/2071946075032756473
#CostOfLiving
Dale Vince: The one thing we all need, to get energy...
Dale Vince
28, June #CostOfLiving

Dale Vince: The one thing we all need, to get energy...

The one thing we all need, to get energy bills down, permanently - is something we can't do ourselves. We need government to ‘break the link’ - the link which allows the global price of gas to set the price of our own wind and sun. DESNZ blamed the link for high energy costs (among the highest in Europe) just this week - they know what the problem is. But they failed to deal with it. After refusing to break this link for years, they then pretended to some weeks ago - and now blame the link (they said they broke) for high bills. It’s all bit messed up. We can't ‘Break the Link’ ourselves, only government can. Will Andy Burnham do it? It’s precisely the kind of radical but fair policy that will impact the cost of living and lift millions from energy poverty - that the country needs. And arguably Labour needs, to get back on the front foot.
#CostOfLiving
Dale Vince: Another Reform member and another example…
Dale Vince
27, May #BrokenSystem

Dale Vince: Another Reform member and another example…

Another Reform member and another example of Racism, Sexism and Islamophobia. Reform is a melting pot of bad people. A limited company with a dodgy leader who takes foreign money, sometimes in secret - who literally said anything for money in his Cameo stint. The beer swilling, fag smoking donkey that ‘led’ us to Brexit. https://thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/nigel-farage-preacher-stephen-clayden-97t2v7vvq
#BrokenSystem
Dale Vince: Wes Streeting is right about this…
Dale Vince
22, May #BrokenSystem

Dale Vince: Wes Streeting is right about this…

Wes Streeting is right about this - we do tax money made with money at half the rate we tax money made with a pair of hands (quote from my book 2020..:) - it’s part of a broad range of tax issues we need to look at, an inherent inequality. But he’s wrong to present this as a wealth tax. And it’s unhelpful to do so, it might be an attempt to burnish his left wing credentials or just a misunderstanding. Equalising these two starkly different rates of tax is actually just the ending of a loophole for the wealthy, a significant advantage they currently have. We call money made with money (investments/assets..) a Capital Gain whereas money made in a job we call Income. That’s fundamentally unjust. Both are forms of income. Our tax system was written by people with money for people with money and it entrenches wealth, clearly - and increases the wealth poverty gap - year in and out. Tax equality is what this is about - some fundamental fairness.
#BrokenSystem
Dale Vince: The decision to build in the UK…
Dale Vince
20, May #TrendShock

Dale Vince: The decision to build in the UK…

The decision to build in the UK is a significant expression of confidence in British manufacturing, which has always been at the heart of what INEOS stands for. Said Jim tax exile Ratcliffe a few years ago. Then he changed his mind, turned his back on Wales and took whatever 'INEOS stands for' abroad. Now he wants to sell our MOD his foreign made cars, while he sits in his tax haven to avoid a fair contribution to the economy he made his billions from - he’s a leech. Let’s have none of it. https://bmmagazine.co.uk/news/ineos-grenadier-mod-contract-land-rover-replacement/
#TrendShock
Dale Vince: Trump opens his mouth…
Dale Vince
18, May #WarSpillover

Dale Vince: Trump opens his mouth…

Trump opens his mouth and out comes Guff. Immigration is down 80% here since it’s Tory peak and for every one windmill we have the USA has 7..! Our North Sea is all but empty, less than 10% left - that isn’t gonna change anything. But facts don't matter to Trump, even what he says one day doesn’t matter to him the next day. Iran was beaten two months ago, but the war drags on, their Uranium stockpile was vital the other day - now it’s just a PR thing. We should pay zero attention to what this fool says. Ooops, I just gave more (of a shit) than I should have..:)
#WarSpillover
Dale Vince: I think it’s the worst thing Labour…
Dale Vince
15, May #StarmerCrisis

Dale Vince: I think it’s the worst thing Labour…

I think it’s the worst thing Labour could do right now, there’s no reason to panic over some adverse polling less than two years into a ten year project - and some of what we’re seeing is more opportunism than panic - but if there is to be a leadership contest my first choice for the job would be Keir, that’s who I’ll back. The NHS has been battered for 14 years by Tory neglect and underfunding. Just as things are starting to turn a corner, Wes decides to walk away from a job he’s actually good at. Because he’s lost confidence apparently. Hard to square that with his talk of being proud to fight in the trenches with Keir at the general election. When the going gets tough and all that…... People around Ed Miliband have been briefing that he’s urged Keir to set a timetable to walk away - unhelpful enough to say it - worse to leak it to the press. Ed is seen as a potential contender, I’m not convinced. A few weeks ago, he told the country he would finally break the link, the market mechanism that drives our energy bills sky-high in a crisis - the following week he announced the details and he did not break the link or even weaken it. Ed misled the country in my view and the Prime minister. Keir's top team should be standing behind him right now - and not with knives in their hands. How about some policy ideas? This whole leadership circus is a massive distraction from the job, not just at a time of global crisis but at a time when the people of Britain are making clear they want more change, they want to feel the change in their lives. The answer to that, some seem to think - is to have a new leader. That’s a delusion and often enough a conceit, sold to us on the premise it’s in the national interest or the party’s interest - when the truth is much closer to home. Labour has a job to do and a mandate to do it. Let’s get on with it.
#StarmerCrisis
Dale Vince: Odd story - Goldman Sachs warns Starmer…
Dale Vince
13, May #StarmerCrisis

Dale Vince: Odd story - Goldman Sachs warns Starmer…

Odd story - Goldman Sachs warns Starmer risks pushing borrowing costs up (by hanging on) - while borrowing costs actually fall, because Starmer refuses to quit. He has a mandate, the fact that he’s unpopular right now is not a reason for him to quit, it’s a reason for him to do better, much better - and deliver on the promise the electorate bought into. Global events have not helped, but mistakes have also been made - meanwhile there are big obvious changes to be made. We've seen the fake announcement of breaking the link from Ed Miliband - how about actually breaking the link and bringing energy bills down. Easy to do, number one on my list. Tax system re balancing, housing market reform - both desperately needed - and a ban on political donations. New Babelfish edition on that out next week.
#StarmerCrisis
Dale Vince: The key part of this...
Dale Vince
07, May #CostOfLiving

Dale Vince: The key part of this...

The key part of this story is in the second line -”according to lobbyists”. Only last summer the government announced £500m for this sector, they want more. £20 billion of private money is “desperate” to invest they say - what’s stopping them? They want more public money. Will 20k jobs really be lost by 2030 or is the story here that 20k jobs could be created. The main issue with Hydrogen is how un economic it is to make, that’s why it’s not taken off in any major way anywhere in the world yet. That’s if you make ‘green hydrogen’ as opposed ‘brown’ which comes from fossil fuels. The Hydrogen Economy was a thing of great hype 10 years ago. It might take another 10 to really get going. We don't need to rush to be ""world leaders”, better technology is coming, the economics will get much better - there’s no need to waste more money on this right now. https://thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/ed-miliband-energy-department-delay-hydrogen-strategy-xvn8zkq7q
#CostOfLiving
Dale Vince: Operation Epic Bullshit will never end…
Dale Vince
06, May #WarSpillover

Dale Vince: Operation Epic Bullshit will never end…

Operation Epic Bullshit will never end. Hostilities are already over according to Trump, the straight is already open according to Trump. Does he know that the straight was open before his blunder war - or that Iran was in a nuclear agreement before he cancelled it. He’s asking now for two things the world already had, until he came along. But watch him try claim the glory for getting them back. Have a feeling though he won’t be able to get one of them - the Straight of Hormuz will never be open as it was.
#WarSpillover
Dale Vince: The biggest tax increase in British history…
Dale Vince
02, May #CostOfLiving

Dale Vince: The biggest tax increase in British history…

The biggest tax increase in British history is being done by stealth. Since the Tories froze the annual tax free allowance in 2021, instead of raising it in line with inflation, 2 million more people have been dragged into the income tax bracket - raising nearly £100 Billion. That’s shocking. If this government won't or can’t remove this new tax burden from the poorest among us, they should introduce a tax at the high end of wealth - to be fair. They could raise £26 Billion a year, a very similar sum actually to the income tax stealth move - and it would be super fair, a tiny 2% tax on wealth above £10 million. It’s wrong to place the burden only on those at the lowest end of earnings and wealth. I want to live in a fairer country, for that we need a fairer tax system. We need to reform the one we have. It was written by people with money for people with money, at 3,000 pages long it’s ten times that of other nations - because it’s chock full of exemptions and loopholes.
#CostOfLiving
Dale Vince: The biggest tax increase in British history…
Dale Vince
01, May #CostOfLiving

Dale Vince: The biggest tax increase in British history…

The biggest tax increase in British history is being done by stealth. Since the Tories froze the annual tax free allowance in 2021, instead of raising it in line with inflation, 2 million more people have been dragged into the income tax bracket - raising nearly £100 Billion. That’s shocking. If this government won't or can’t remove this new tax burden from the poorest among us, they should introduce a tax at the high end of wealth - to be fair. They could raise £26 Billion a year, a very similar sum actually to the income tax stealth move - and it would be super fair, a tiny 2% tax on wealth above £10 million. It’s wrong to place the burden only on those at the lowest end of earnings and wealth. I want to live in a fairer country, for that we need a fairer tax system. We need to reform the one we have. It was written by people with money for people with money, at 3,000 pages long it’s ten times that of other nations - because it’s chock full of exemptions and loopholes.
#CostOfLiving
Dale Vince: Well, class A delusional…
Dale Vince
29, April #WarSpillover

Dale Vince: Well, class A delusional…

Well, class A delusional - who else ever thought he was a nice guy….:) Oh and Iran had signed a non nuclear deal, which Trump broke. And have repeatedly offered another - until the latest sneak attack during negotiations, by the US led by Israel. If they, Iran, end up with a nuke we’ll all have Trump to thank. If they end up running the straight or Hormuz like it’s the Panama Canal - we’ll all have Trump to thank. So much to thank him for, we’ll get tired of thanking him..:)
#WarSpillover
Dale Vince: What’s interesting in this story...
Dale Vince
21, April

Dale Vince: What’s interesting in this story...

What’s interesting in this story is that 'UK and European stocks lost billions’ in the last week after the government announced it was going to ‘break the link’ - presumably now the detail is out and it’s not actually breaking this link - stocks will rebound in value. That tells us all we need to know - real breaking of the link would have been bad for big business - this mere weakening of it is just bad for consumers - same as it ever was.
Dale Vince: An amazing collection this…
Dale Vince
15, April

Dale Vince: An amazing collection this…

An amazing collection this, of hope over reason. Britain just invested £600m into Rolls Royce’s ‘mini nuke’ program - that was always coming. But here we see it’s being done in the hope that these things can be built faster than the big versions that are famously slow and always late. Hope. This sentiment get’s worse when we hear that this mini nuke investment is intended as an answer to the middle east inspired - second fossil fuel crisis of this decade so far. The ‘hope’ is to have the first three up and running by 2035, nine whole years from now. This crisis will be over by then and the ones that will follow. How on earth can anyone think that something coming in ten years is an answer to a crisis we’re in right now? And that’s not all. Rachael Reeves is right to flag the importance of making our own energy here, to protect us from future crises - but she overlooks the elephant in the room (no not Trump) - we don't set the price of electricity made here, whether from the wind, sun or nuclear. Global fossil markets do. So these nukes could appear tomorrow, could even make affordable energy - but it won't affect our electricity bills at all - because all of the stuff we make here is priced somewhere else. Why won't Labour grasp this nettle - we need to break the link between the price of fossil gas and the price of all other forms of electricity made here. That (and only that) can bring bills down immediately. And protect us for the future. Legislation to do it exists - only the will seems missing. We can find £600m for tech that might help us in ten years (big bold announcement) - but not the courage to take on this foolish market mechanism. Shame. https://independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/rolls-royce-smr-nuclear-reactor-iran-b2957118.html