Quote Originally Posted by JamesWales View Post
I've not chosen to die on this hill. What I'm doing is pointing out that the energy price cap is 50% and this ladies bills have supposedly risen 500% and therefore there may be something more to this story.

I also point out that slapping a windfall tax on energy producers may be a bad decision in the long run. It's not just me saying that - I am merely listening to experts in the field as opposed to those trying to win local elections on Thursday.

I have also said I am open to the idea of a windfall tax anyway - I just recognise it's no silver bullet.

What I don't buy is that somehow the fact that this womans bills have risen 500% is all down to the government. Thats an argument I would expect Labour activists to make in the run up to an election (or Tory activists if the roles were reversed) but I don't think it's conducive to a particularly interesting or enlightening debate.

The reality is if you want to solve these problems in the long run they need to be properly understood which is what we should all be trying to do, no? Just saying "slap a windfall tax on them" may not work.

The reality is war is f-ing shit. 99% of the shitness is borne by people in warzones, but it does screw over certain industries, and energy production is one of them.

We need a solution, but a windfall tax may not be the solution.
I'm afraid the long term solution was to invest more heavily in and prioritise green energy many years ago.

You might want a long term solution but whether you chose to believe it or not, there are people who need a short term solution.

Also, I don't think anybody needs to be an 'energy industry expert' to know categorically that the big firms do not act in the interests of us. So when they announce 'record investment' and a 'commitment to Britain', forgive me for being suspicious about whether we are getting a good deal or not.