You are right it is an issue. Previous governments have been pushing for more to be done on insulating homes and offered subsidies. The problem now is that it is too late to insulate homes to minimise the impact of the the energy/cost of living crisis we are now faced with. Going forwards though it is still important. I have a nagging feeling the current government may have cut subsidies in this area (but I may be wrong about that).
1 Like
Iād pay all benefits to give a family food, warmth, shelter and the basics required for life. No cash to the claimants, vouchers and direct payments with serious penalties for selling said vouchers. Photo ID required as a minimum freely provided.
But people hate me for having this opinion.
The way things will be going it wonāt be long before people will be means testedā¦oh have a ps5 huh? Sell it
Weāve done that with our own moneyā¦no grantsā¦
1 Like
Already amā¦our generation were told to save for life after workā¦we didā¦and now Iām told to spend it cause there are no benefits for usā¦we have too much savingsā¦
You have said yourself you will get a state pension from age 66 and your partner has now started receiving itā¦
For means tested benefits there is a maximum amount of savings allowed before they make deductions to benefits.
Noā¦sorryā¦me n mester donāt get our state pension til the age of 66ā¦thatās 3 yrs for mester and 4 for meā¦as I said beforeā¦we get nothing just our works pension which we were allowed to claim at 55.
1 Like
Not worth means testing, more expensive than not.
I never have a problem with means-testing in principle, but from experience I have been stunned how inefficient it usually is - massive program overhead with minimal measurable benefit, and so it is hard to avoid the conclusion that the motivation for it is some vindictive spirit. Ontario conducted a regional pilot of a guaranteed minimum income, and by any reasonable measure it was a success. It was nonetheless scrapped, replaced by the more expensive, less efficient pre-existing programs, spending more money to leave recipients less well-off.
2 Likes
Important to note that that covers electricity, not natural gas - which would have a much larger direct effect on the UK, including UK electricity. Reducing Norwegian supply into NordPool will have a knock-on effect though, particularly because post-Brexit the UK is buying after the EU Internal Energy Market has otherwise settled. The stack order effect might magnify the effect of a comparatively small reduction of supply.
Thank God! I thought it might also affect the gas imports
It should be but the current government scrapped most of the co-ordinated schemes around 10 years ago.
I actually did some of the statistical input for the Energy Conservation Act back in 2000 and that should have left the country in a far better position (also, that had all party backing). They replaced a huge chunk of that with an opaque system of loans that really only benefitted the firms doing the assessments.
Things like food and energy security, national security and public health planning shouldnāt be huge areas of political debate - they are just things that need to be planned for. The fact thet they arenāt planned for (or at least politicians refuse to act on planning documents) is a major indicator of how badly corrupted British politics is.
4 Likes
Gas is about 2.5% of Norwegian electrical generation, and I donāt think they even have the capacity to generate more than 10% running full time regardless of marginal cost - there are three(?) gas-fired plants in the entire country, and only the cogen plant is in regular use (which is why I am not certain about the current number). So Norway may face an energy crisis while also remaining a massive net exporter of energy. In normal times they would meet a near-term shortfall in hydroelectric supply with imports, obviously not where they want to be right now.
1 Like
its the hardest thing.
but we need to not hate on our fellow citizensā¦thats a really bad place to be.
i cant comment on the UK system, but the Australian system we see long term unemployed, and every so often a bit of a whip up of hatred is stirred by ācurrent affairsā programs etc etc.
ask yourself this thoughā¦would you trade positions with themā¦even though it seems unjust, would you trade places with them?..ignoring the monetary value, but the ethic, the pride you have in building your own thing, the friends you gain along the way, the independence you haveā¦
in the end im more angry at the slimy handschake deals in the corridoors of power than the pleb rigging the system in the estates.
āsociety only benefits when old men plant trees whose shade they will not knowā
stay strong, you are doing the right thing financially and mentally for yourself and your family, and dont hate on those who arent able to realise that.
7 Likes
cross post with politics thread
Would I trade places with emā¦well I wouldnt pay council tax, I wouldnt pay rent, I wouldnt cook meals cause takeaways 3 times a day, everday would solve that, wait for my energy payment to pay for my holidayā¦all I would have to do is wait each month for āpaydayāā¦thatās how they refer to their benefitsā¦would I trade placesā¦would you?.
Comāon @Wilkored08 just think a little, what sort of holiday will they have for well under 400 quid?
2 deck chairs and a paddling pool that they canāt fill up due to hose pipe bans.
You with your saving could go and have a rocker of a holiday on a nice sunny beach with scantily clad bombs for Mr and swath hairy pant stretchers serving you lovely shaken cocktails!
Sounds like you need a break! 
1 Like
Well when youāre saving Ā£60 a month council tax and Ā£600 a month rentā¦you to could have a very good holidayā¦and the Ā£300 energy money is for spendingā¦