Energy Prices

[Eric Cartman]

It goes without saying that sometimes those who fall just outside the threshold for benefits are often in difficult positions and it won't be an easy winter.

In my position; I pay £65 a month to Shell for Gas and Electric. I routinely use around half of that, so there is a surplus. I anticipate it going up from October (not sure how much yet) but £66 will be knocked off that.

I would imagine your £182 doesn't include the £66 to be taken off, although I don't know.

None of this is perfect. We live in a time when the cost of fuel is extremely high due overwhelmingly to a war in Europe. But the announcement does mitigate against the worst excesses of what we would have faced and those on benefits are helped more.

So oil/gas companies are going to exceed usual profits by 170 billion over the next two years because we are at war. Shell and BP are going to take their part of that 170 billion and invest a fraction into the UK (potentially in things that don't align with the future energy security needs of the average punter) and pocket the rest.

Ordinary people - lose
Uk economy - lose
Oil/gas giants - win

We aren't debating whether or not people should be supported, we are debating why, yet again, during hard times (times of war even) the system is designed to make sure the rich keep getting richer.

I don't think there is any tangible evidence that having a windfall tax to pay for some of this support will affect future growth. Whilst not having one certainly will mean is a tightening of the belt in the future, worse education, worse healthcare, less police. For the first time in my life it really feels like the UK is a dead man walking.

I saw a picture on Reddit the other day of a car park tariff. £13 for one hour, £25 for two, etc. With the header something like 'you know there is something wrong when a parking space earns more than a person'. Something to ponder.