On the subject of energy bills our political masters prefer to treat us like children
1. What a Grown Up Conversation about Energy Bills Looks Like
Electorate: "blimey, these energy bills smart a bit.
I'm not very happy about that."
Government: "Yes, we can see why, prices for gas have doubled since 2005. There's
a growing middle class in the developing world who want the same standard of living as us and fossil fuels are getting
more expensive to extract. I'm very sorry but we can't control the global price of energy."
Electorate: "are you saying that it's just going to
keep on getting worse?"
Government: "no, we're saying that energy is going
to get more and more expensive, but your bills are calculated by multiplying
the cost of energy by the amount you use."
Electorate: "so you're telling us to share our bath
water and wear two jumpers in winter?"
Government: "the UK has among the least energy
efficient housing in Europe! perhaps it's time to start thinking about
investing in your home. Why not install insulation or solar water heating to
reduce your heating bills or make your own electricity with solar PV panels? We have support schemes to help with the costs of these measures."
2. What we get Instead
Electorate: "blimey, these energy bills smart a bit.
I'm not very happy about that."
This Lot: " the energy companies tell me
that it's all down to the green tariffs (which, by the way, the other lot brought
in). We'll make the horrible bills go away for you, leave it to us."
The Other Lot: "No, no, no! It's all down to those nasty
profiteering energy companies. Leave it to us, we'll
make a law to stop price increases so those fat cats can't charge you so much money.”
It's time our politicians squared with us. Go on, tell it how it is, we're all grown ups here, aren't we?
