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Post by zenfootball2 on Aug 28, 2022 12:08:52 GMT 1
www.theguardian.com/money/2022/aug/28/bidding-wars-cash-up-front-and-auditions-inside-britains-broken-renting-marketBidding wars, cash up-front and ‘auditions’ – inside Britain’s broken renting market. For those without a safety net, the spiralling prices can have devastating consequences. Homelessness rates are now higher than they were before the pandemic in two-fifths of local authorities, according to data from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Shelter, the homelessness charity, says enquiries from people seeking advice on emergency support with their rent have risen 177% since the start of the year, from 8,195 between January and March to 22,677 in the three months to the end of July. People in receipt of housing benefit, who often experience difficulty finding places to rent in the first place, are at the greatest risk. Vicky Hines, Shelter’s strategic lead for the West Midlands, said the October energy price cap rise to £3,549 a year meant things were set to get worse as people juggled rent with living costs. She said people would be forced into temporary accommodation. Sophie Delamothe from campaign group Generation Rent called on the government to take urgent action, including introducing “a rent freeze right now” and a pause on no-fault evictions and evictions for rent arrears. “There was action during the pandemic, so why not now?” she said. “I don’t think we’ve seen the worst of it yet.” One of the pillars holding up growth is the property market. House price increases may have slowed in many areas, but they remain positive and continue to drive up values in coastal hotspots and desirable towns and suburbs to record highs. Rents in the residential sector are also growing after a brief dip during the pandemic. Across the country, letting agents are so busy that their soaring commissions threaten to match the growth in mega-bonuses paid to investment bankers and private equity executives. Like the energy market, the property market is now well and truly rigged in favour of the owners and against their customers. Average monthly rents are now 40% higher than they were 10 years ago. After 12 years of Tory rule, it is yet another economic statistic that brings shame on the government. www.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/27/property-owners-hold-all-the-cards-hard-luck-everyone-else we need a goverment with the vision singapore have shown and a cross party agrement to not mess about with it from wikie "Under Singapore's housing ownership programme, housing units are sold on a 99-year leasehold to applicants who meet certain income, citizenship and property ownership requirements. The estate's land and common areas continue to be owned by the government. To help Singaporeans secure their first home, at least 95% of the 4-room and larger flat supply are set aside for first-timers. From May 2019, |
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Post by northwestman on Aug 28, 2022 12:11:52 GMT 1
www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/28/life-is-better-now-than-in-the-1950s-but-at-least-that-generation-could-afford-a-homeAchieving the security of a home – so fundamental to everything in life – in the UK requires you to own it or to live in social housing. Yet the social housing stock has shrunk in recent decades and there is a burgeoning army of people in their 20s and 30s who will never own. The only option left is renting from a private landlord. The private rented sector has swollen to accommodate this, doubling in size in just a decade. But it absolutely does not deliver what people need and what it does offer comes at huge cost to tenants, but in a way that generates significant profits for landlords. We need a painful correction to house prices and radical reform of the rental market, with the state capping rents and enforcing long-term tenancies, not-for-profit housing associations buying up and renting homes landlords wish no longer to, or cannot, operate and a huge programme of public investment in building homes for rent. The longer politicians put off the inevitable, the more parents and pensioners of the future will bear the cost of their miserable failure.
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Post by northwestman on Aug 28, 2022 12:21:48 GMT 1
www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/aug/28/liz-truss-vat-cut-rishi-sunak-cost-of-livingLiz Truss’s plans to tackle the cost of living crisis by slashing VAT across the board will do little to help those struggling to pay food bills and benefit richer households substantially more, Rishi Sunak’s team has claimed. The frontrunner in the Conservative leadership race was accused of considering a “regressive” and “flawed” move that could cost the exchequer up to £38bn a year, while the government faces calls to offer more support with spiralling energy costs. But a source in Sunak’s team said given VAT was not paid on basic items such as staple foods, the move would do “nothing to help families pay their supermarket bills”. They called the plan “flawed on many levels” and “regressive”, claiming it would benefit richer households with “very little to no benefit for lower income households who will need the most help this winter”.
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Post by northwestman on Aug 28, 2022 16:13:10 GMT 1
www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/28/cost-of-living-lefty-liz-truss-crisis-right-winterWith Liz Truss heading for victory in the Conservative leadership contest, she would be forgiven for wondering if she’s about to win a poisoned chalice. The biggest cost of living crisis in a generation, a crumbling NHS, a summer of strikes, an impending recession. Becoming prime minister of the UK in 2022 is less like inheriting a 10-bed mansion than a rat-infested shed. Not that Truss will tell you this. Throughout the campaign, Truss has spent most of her time downplaying the impending crises. “I don’t agree with these portents of doom. I don’t really agree with this declinist talk. I believe our country’s best days are ahead of us,” she told one hustings audience. In Truss world, even the Bank of England is a doom-forecaster. “There is too much talk that there’s going to be a recession,” she said, in a Sun on Sunday interview. “I don’t believe that’s inevitable. We can unleash opportunity here in Britain.” Johnson was akin to a secondhand car dealer wishing voters a smooth ride as he sent them off in a broken banger. A Truss administration is merely the next stage of this charade, squinting into the sunlit uplands as sewage laps the shores. Without a capable prime minister, it is not doom saying to understand what lies ahead for Britain: mass fuel poverty, broken public services, rocketing bills, and an ever-increasing risk of social unrest. Britain may be Truss’s poisoned chalice, but it will be the rest of us who are forced to drink from the cup.
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Post by northwestman on Aug 28, 2022 22:04:01 GMT 1
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Post by northwestman on Aug 29, 2022 11:56:14 GMT 1
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11155051/Liz-Truss-plans-hike-income-tax-thresholds-rescue-package-help-families.htmlLiz Truss is poised to raise income tax thresholds as part of a major package of measures designed to ease the cost of living crunch. But sources said the leadership frontrunner has all but ruled out adding to the universal £400 energy bill discount agreed by her rival Rishi Sunak earlier this year. Instead, direct support is likely to focus on targeted measures, such as increasing the winter fuel allowance for pensioners and helping those on universal credit. Truss had already pledged to hold an emergency budget next month to reverse some of the tax rises imposed by Mr Sunak, including those to national insurance and corporation tax. She has also promised to suspend green levies on energy bills. But, as the scale of the crisis becomes clearer, she is now considering emergency tax cuts to put more cash back in people’s pockets. A senior ally of Miss Truss said she was ‘certain’ to end the four-year freeze in income tax thresholds which was brought in by Mr Sunak last year to help pay off the huge cost of dealing with Covid. The freeze, which was forecast to raise £8.1billion a year, was introduced at a time when inflation was below two per cent. However, with inflation hitting 10.1 per cent and forecast by some to double next year, the freeze is set to raise vast sums and drag millions of people into paying more tax. A senior ally of Miss Truss said: ‘One thing you can be certain of is the freeze on thresholds is going to end early. ‘When inflation is running at 10 per cent you cannot have the thresholds frozen because you will have people paying a higher proportion of tax on their income at a time when bills are going through the roof. At last! One of the candidates is addressing my number one concern - the stealth tax which freezes personal tax allowances until 2026.
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Post by neilsalop on Aug 30, 2022 6:14:43 GMT 1
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11155051/Liz-Truss-plans-hike-income-tax-thresholds-rescue-package-help-families.htmlLiz Truss is poised to raise income tax thresholds as part of a major package of measures designed to ease the cost of living crunch. But sources said the leadership frontrunner has all but ruled out adding to the universal £400 energy bill discount agreed by her rival Rishi Sunak earlier this year. Instead, direct support is likely to focus on targeted measures, such as increasing the winter fuel allowance for pensioners and helping those on universal credit. Truss had already pledged to hold an emergency budget next month to reverse some of the tax rises imposed by Mr Sunak, including those to national insurance and corporation tax. She has also promised to suspend green levies on energy bills. But, as the scale of the crisis becomes clearer, she is now considering emergency tax cuts to put more cash back in people’s pockets. A senior ally of Miss Truss said she was ‘certain’ to end the four-year freeze in income tax thresholds which was brought in by Mr Sunak last year to help pay off the huge cost of dealing with Covid. The freeze, which was forecast to raise £8.1billion a year, was introduced at a time when inflation was below two per cent. However, with inflation hitting 10.1 per cent and forecast by some to double next year, the freeze is set to raise vast sums and drag millions of people into paying more tax. A senior ally of Miss Truss said: ‘One thing you can be certain of is the freeze on thresholds is going to end early. ‘When inflation is running at 10 per cent you cannot have the thresholds frozen because you will have people paying a higher proportion of tax on their income at a time when bills are going through the roof. At last! One of the candidates is addressing my number one concern - the stealth tax which freezes personal tax allowances until 2026. If they raise income tax thresholds the rich will keep more of their money, those in the middle might save a bit, but those on minimum wage will barely be affected. Tax and NI on a full time minimum wage is around £195 a month. Even if the threshold moved those on low wages out of the tax band completely the difference will be negligible at best and certainly won't be enough to make up the 200% rise in energy cost in the last 12 months. |
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Post by wookeywombat on Aug 30, 2022 7:58:46 GMT 1
Just like Johnson did previously, Truss has ducked out of an obviously difficult interview with the BBC
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Post by northwestman on Aug 30, 2022 10:18:26 GMT 1
Sunak didn't follow the Tory mantra: 'Appeal to the audience in front of you'. He used his General Election strategy, a prudent, broad church approach, to a voting base which elected William Hague and IDS in the past.
Truss has gone all out for right-wing, dog whistle policies, and has run away with it.
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Post by martinshrew on Aug 30, 2022 10:49:27 GMT 1
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Post by frankwellshrews on Aug 30, 2022 10:52:30 GMT 1
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11155051/Liz-Truss-plans-hike-income-tax-thresholds-rescue-package-help-families.htmlLiz Truss is poised to raise income tax thresholds as part of a major package of measures designed to ease the cost of living crunch. But sources said the leadership frontrunner has all but ruled out adding to the universal £400 energy bill discount agreed by her rival Rishi Sunak earlier this year. Instead, direct support is likely to focus on targeted measures, such as increasing the winter fuel allowance for pensioners and helping those on universal credit. Truss had already pledged to hold an emergency budget next month to reverse some of the tax rises imposed by Mr Sunak, including those to national insurance and corporation tax. She has also promised to suspend green levies on energy bills. But, as the scale of the crisis becomes clearer, she is now considering emergency tax cuts to put more cash back in people’s pockets. A senior ally of Miss Truss said she was ‘certain’ to end the four-year freeze in income tax thresholds which was brought in by Mr Sunak last year to help pay off the huge cost of dealing with Covid. The freeze, which was forecast to raise £8.1billion a year, was introduced at a time when inflation was below two per cent. However, with inflation hitting 10.1 per cent and forecast by some to double next year, the freeze is set to raise vast sums and drag millions of people into paying more tax. A senior ally of Miss Truss said: ‘One thing you can be certain of is the freeze on thresholds is going to end early. ‘When inflation is running at 10 per cent you cannot have the thresholds frozen because you will have people paying a higher proportion of tax on their income at a time when bills are going through the roof. At last! One of the candidates is addressing my number one concern - the stealth tax which freezes personal tax allowances until 2026. If they raise income tax thresholds the rich will keep more of their money, those in the middle might save a bit, but those on minimum wage will barely be affected. Tax and NI on a full time minimum wage is around £195 a month. Even if the threshold moved those on low wages out of the tax band completely the difference will be negligible at best and certainly won't be enough to make up the 200% rise in energy cost in the last 12 months. Raising the threshold is only part of the story. You could double the tax free allowance and give everyone earning £25k or more an extra £200 a month and pay for it (or at least some of it) by lowering the additional and possibly even higher bands. Couple of hundred quid is negligible for "the rich" but is not to be sniffed at for most. Also, why does everything only get a pass if it specifically benefits those on minimum wage? Could we not come up with something else for very low earners? Middle income people are going to need as much help as anyone else by the time 7 grand energy bills arrive. |
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Post by ssshrew on Aug 30, 2022 10:52:48 GMT 1
We seem to be in limbo and just drifting towards who knows what. No credible government while we wait for the wheels to grind round and get someone in place. A lame duck PM stating things will be sorted by a successor we await, and an opposition who don’t seem to know what to do and are probably on holiday anyway.
No wonder people are fed up and fearing the worst.
We have no leadership anywhere at the moment.
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Post by frankwellshrews on Aug 30, 2022 10:53:54 GMT 1
Yes, you're quite right; it's all the labour party's fault that the country that's been governed by the Tories since 2010 is in the state it's in. |
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Post by martinshrew on Aug 30, 2022 10:58:33 GMT 1
If they raise income tax thresholds the rich will keep more of their money, those in the middle might save a bit, but those on minimum wage will barely be affected. Tax and NI on a full time minimum wage is around £195 a month. Even if the threshold moved those on low wages out of the tax band completely the difference will be negligible at best and certainly won't be enough to make up the 200% rise in energy cost in the last 12 months. Raising the threshold is only part of the story. You could double the tax free allowance and give everyone earning £25k or more an extra £200 a month and pay for it (or at least some of it) by lowering the additional and possibly even higher bands. Couple of hundred quid is negligible for "the rich" but is not to be sniffed at for most. Also, why does everything only get a pass if it specifically benefits those on minimum wage? Could we not come up with something else for very low earners? Middle income people are going to need as much help as anyone else by the time 7 grand energy bills arrive. All well and good putting minimum wage to £15 (Which is a nonsense policy) but there's plenty of middle earners who are ****ed already. There's little point on anyone earning £40,000 and under having a debate, everyone is in the same boat at the level. They just like to put h those earning £40,000 against those earning minimum wage. Everyone earning £40,000 and under should focus on those earning more, not on each other, everyone under £40,000 a year will be ****ed if £700 a month energy bills become a reality. If I were in charge I'd up the tax earning threshold to £14,000 and impose an extra 2% tax on those earning £75,000+ to get started. |
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Post by martinshrew on Aug 30, 2022 11:01:20 GMT 1
Yes, you're quite right; it's all the labour party's fault that the country that's been governed by the Tories since 2010 is in the state it's in. That's not what I'm saying, there's only party at fault, that's the Tories. My point is Labour should be a well oiled machine, cruising to a landslide record majority, being 1/10 on with everyone singing from the same hymn sheet. There shouldn't be fractions, different voices, differing opinions from those in high places within the party. The above couldn't be further from the truth. |
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Post by northwestman on Aug 30, 2022 11:12:21 GMT 1
www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/aug/29/liz-truss-pulls-out-of-primetime-interview-with-bbcs-nick-robinsonLiz Truss has been accused of “running scared” of scrutiny after pulling out of a BBC interview scheduled for Tuesday, meaning she is likely to become prime minister without undergoing a single set-piece broadcast quizzing. Earlier this month the foreign secretary agreed to a primetime interview with the veteran political journalist Nick Robinson on BBC One, something already done by Rishi Sunak, her rival to succeed Boris Johnson as Conservative party leader. But a BBC spokesperson said Truss had now cancelled the interview. “Ms Truss’s team say she can no longer spare the time to appear on Our Next Prime Minister,” they said. “We regret that it has not been possible to do an in-depth interview with both candidates despite having reached agreement to do so.” In a tweet, Robinson said he had been pleased that Truss had agreed to the interview and he was “disappointed and frustrated it’s been cancelled”. A source in Sunak’s campaign said their tally showed Truss had done just two broadcast interviews of any form during the campaign, whereas Sunak had undertaken nine, also including three spots on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme and an appearance on ITV’s This Morning. Truss is following the Boris Johnson methodology. Avoiding the Andrew Neil interview and hiding in fridges didn't do his chances any harm.
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Post by wookeywombat on Aug 30, 2022 11:30:30 GMT 1
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Post by neilsalop on Aug 30, 2022 11:38:40 GMT 1
We seem to be in limbo and just drifting towards who knows what. No credible government while we wait for the wheels to grind round and get someone in place. A lame duck PM stating things will be sorted by a successor we await, and an opposition who don’t seem to know what to do and are probably on holiday anyway. No wonder people are fed up and fearing the worst. We have no leadership anywhere at the moment. Wasn't nationalising some industries one of Starmer's 10 pledges? He is the one that has u-turned. The majority of Labour and according to the Times many Tory voters are in favour of bringing utility companies into public ownership. |
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Post by martinshrew on Aug 30, 2022 11:43:37 GMT 1
We seem to be in limbo and just drifting towards who knows what. No credible government while we wait for the wheels to grind round and get someone in place. A lame duck PM stating things will be sorted by a successor we await, and an opposition who don’t seem to know what to do and are probably on holiday anyway. No wonder people are fed up and fearing the worst. We have no leadership anywhere at the moment. Wasn't nationalising some industries one of Starmer's 10 pledges? He is the one that has u-turned. The majority of Labour and according to the Times many Tory voters are in favour of bringing utility companies into public ownership. It probably was, again my point stands, there's no solid "here's the 10x values of Labour" type manifesto which they're all aligned on. It's a shame, now more than ever we need a rock solid opposition who are ready to govern; with my most neutral outlook I simply don't see that at the moment. |
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kp
Midland League Division One
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Post by kp on Aug 30, 2022 13:07:02 GMT 1
We seem to be in limbo and just drifting towards who knows what. No credible government while we wait for the wheels to grind round and get someone in place. A lame duck PM stating things will be sorted by a successor we await, and an opposition who don’t seem to know what to do and are probably on holiday anyway. No wonder people are fed up and fearing the worst. We have no leadership anywhere at the moment. Wasn't nationalising some industries one of Starmer's 10 pledges? He is the one that has u-turned. The majority of Labour and according to the Times many Tory voters are in favour of bringing utility companies into public ownership. If only one of the parties had put this forward in their last manifesto, they would have won by a landslide. |
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Post by neilsalop on Aug 30, 2022 14:16:02 GMT 1
Wasn't nationalising some industries one of Starmer's 10 pledges? He is the one that has u-turned. The majority of Labour and according to the Times many Tory voters are in favour of bringing utility companies into public ownership. It probably was, again my point stands, there's no solid "here's the 10x values of Labour" type manifesto which they're all aligned on. It's a shame, now more than ever we need a rock solid opposition who are ready to govern; with my most neutral outlook I simply don't see that at the moment. It was the ten pledges that got him elected as Labour leader. Even most of his opponents supported most of them. If he hadn't backtracked on every single one of them the party would be largely united. This division isn't the fault of rank and file members or left wing MPs or unions or party officials. It's on Starmer and his lackeys on the NEC. Hopefully the next Labour conference will call for nationalisation of the utilities and railways. |
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Post by northwestman on Aug 30, 2022 16:30:17 GMT 1
Dodds and Burnham are doing Labour no favours.
The Labour party chair, Anneliese Dodds, has said the “massive increase” in the cap on energy bills “will plunge many, many households into financial distress”. Asked about reports Liz Truss would support oil and gas drilling licences in the North Sea and if that was the answer, Dodds told Times Radio: “No, it’s not and the answer really is to be taking action to get the cost of those bills down.”
Andy Burnham has voiced criticism of Keir Starmer’s policy of stopping Labour frontbenchers from joining picket lines, saying he would not “see this as controversial” during a crisis over the cost of living. The mayor of Greater Manchester is due to join Mick Lynch, the leader of the RMT rail union, at the launch of the Enough is Enough movement in Manchester on Tuesday. The new movement is calling for lower energy prices and increases to wages and benefits. Speaking to Sky News, Burnham again declined to rule out standing for the Labour leadership in the future, saying he would consider this “one day”.
Liz Truss will sign off on a push for more oil drilling in the North Sea if she wins the Conservative leadership election, according to reports, drawing criticism from environmental campaigners. Amid mounting public dismay about soaring energy bills, Truss’s policy advisers are thought to be discussing proposals to issue up to 130 new drilling licences.
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Post by northwestman on Aug 31, 2022 9:56:51 GMT 1
Boris gaslighting again.
Boris Johnson has said Britain is “absolutely not” broken at the end of his premiership, and claimed that “this country has got an incredible future and has everything going for it”.
Asked outside a police station in Lewisham, south London, whether Britain “was broken” in the final days of his leadership, he responded: “Absolutely not. This country has got an incredible future and has everything going for it.
“Look at the place that people want to invest in. Which is the country that attracts more venture capital investment now than China? It’s the United Kingdom.
“Which country has, I think, more billion-pound start-up tech companies than France, than Germany, than Israel put together? It is the United Kingdom.
“Why do people want to come here? Because it is the place to be.
“What we’re doing now, and what I’m proud that we’ve done over the last three years or so, is put in a lot of things that will make this country fit for the future.”
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Post by northwestman on Aug 31, 2022 10:34:42 GMT 1
One for the new PM's ever increasing in tray.
The pound tumbled to a two-year low on Tuesday and the cost of borrowing surged as Ryanair's chief executive Michael O'Leary warned that a “deep, dark recession” is looming over households and businesses.
Sterling fell 0.7pc to $1.16 against the dollar, the lowest since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, amid fears of surging inflation and a sharp economic downturn.
Jitters over the UK economy also sent blue chip stocks falling, erasing all the gains made by the FTSE 100 since the start of the year.
Meanwhile, analysts at Goldman Sachs said that inflation is at risk of peaking at more than 22pc in Britain if the energy costs continue to rocket.
Rising bets on the Bank of England taking more drastic action to stamp out inflation pushed up UK government borrowing costs as the 10-year gilt yield hit its highest level since 2014, rising by 0.1 percentage points to 2.7pc. The increase is a further headache for the next Prime Minister, as they are likely to take on more debt as part of stimulus efforts.
Goldman Sachs researchers warned that further sustained spikes in energy prices would send Britain’s inflation rate soaring above 22pc to the highest level since 1975.
The bank said that a lengthy bout of rising gas prices would lead to the price cap climbing above £6,000 in January.
Daily Telegraph.
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Post by stuttgartershrew on Aug 31, 2022 11:18:22 GMT 1
Regarding the nationalization of energy (which by the way I think has it merits) and this current crisis though, would it help? I'm not sure I got that from the article. As isn't this down to supply and demand? Where countries have turned their back on fossil fuels without first making sure there are alternatives to bridge the gap (until other energy sources were generating enough to meet demand). Or in our case here, relying on the likes of Putin to do so. So the current price increase is down to bidding on a limited supply of alternatives from elsewhere? This for example, from the Wall Street Journal... “The underlying cause of Britain’s energy misery is its fixation with climate goals, especially the ambition to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2050. To meet that goal, Britain has grown hostile to domestic energy exploration banning shale-gas fracking and slapping windfall-tax profits on North Sea oil and gas producers that will deter investment. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has hurt, but the UK’s policies made its citizens vulnerable to global shock.”
How would the UK be better placed to deal with the current crisis if energy was in public ownership? Honest question. I have no doubt Burnham believes it would help I'm just wondering how. |
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kp
Midland League Division One
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Post by kp on Aug 31, 2022 13:56:21 GMT 1
One for the new PM's ever increasing in tray. The pound tumbled to a two-year low on Tuesday and the cost of borrowing surged as Ryanair's chief executive Michael O'Leary warned that a “deep, dark recession” is looming over households and businesses. Sterling fell 0.7pc to $1.16 against the dollar, the lowest since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, amid fears of surging inflation and a sharp economic downturn. Jitters over the UK economy also sent blue chip stocks falling, erasing all the gains made by the FTSE 100 since the start of the year. Meanwhile, analysts at Goldman Sachs said that inflation is at risk of peaking at more than 22pc in Britain if the energy costs continue to rocket. Rising bets on the Bank of England taking more drastic action to stamp out inflation pushed up UK government borrowing costs as the 10-year gilt yield hit its highest level since 2014, rising by 0.1 percentage points to 2.7pc. The increase is a further headache for the next Prime Minister, as they are likely to take on more debt as part of stimulus efforts. Goldman Sachs researchers warned that further sustained spikes in energy prices would send Britain’s inflation rate soaring above 22pc to the highest level since 1975. The bank said that a lengthy bout of rising gas prices would lead to the price cap climbing above £6,000 in January. Daily Telegraph. I blame Labour |
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Post by martinshrew on Aug 31, 2022 14:06:38 GMT 1
One for the new PM's ever increasing in tray. The pound tumbled to a two-year low on Tuesday and the cost of borrowing surged as Ryanair's chief executive Michael O'Leary warned that a “deep, dark recession” is looming over households and businesses. Sterling fell 0.7pc to $1.16 against the dollar, the lowest since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, amid fears of surging inflation and a sharp economic downturn. Jitters over the UK economy also sent blue chip stocks falling, erasing all the gains made by the FTSE 100 since the start of the year. Meanwhile, analysts at Goldman Sachs said that inflation is at risk of peaking at more than 22pc in Britain if the energy costs continue to rocket. Rising bets on the Bank of England taking more drastic action to stamp out inflation pushed up UK government borrowing costs as the 10-year gilt yield hit its highest level since 2014, rising by 0.1 percentage points to 2.7pc. The increase is a further headache for the next Prime Minister, as they are likely to take on more debt as part of stimulus efforts. Goldman Sachs researchers warned that further sustained spikes in energy prices would send Britain’s inflation rate soaring above 22pc to the highest level since 1975. The bank said that a lengthy bout of rising gas prices would lead to the price cap climbing above £6,000 in January. Daily Telegraph. I blame Labour I don't think a single realistic person does actually blame Labour for the crisis, they're just frustrated that Labour haven't got their act together and formed a strong opposition that's ready for government. At the moment there's a huge portion of people who can't align themselves with any of the parties. |
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Post by neilsalop on Aug 31, 2022 14:07:51 GMT 1
One for the new PM's ever increasing in tray. The pound tumbled to a two-year low on Tuesday and the cost of borrowing surged as Ryanair's chief executive Michael O'Leary warned that a “deep, dark recession” is looming over households and businesses. Sterling fell 0.7pc to $1.16 against the dollar, the lowest since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, amid fears of surging inflation and a sharp economic downturn. Jitters over the UK economy also sent blue chip stocks falling, erasing all the gains made by the FTSE 100 since the start of the year. Meanwhile, analysts at Goldman Sachs said that inflation is at risk of peaking at more than 22pc in Britain if the energy costs continue to rocket. Rising bets on the Bank of England taking more drastic action to stamp out inflation pushed up UK government borrowing costs as the 10-year gilt yield hit its highest level since 2014, rising by 0.1 percentage points to 2.7pc. The increase is a further headache for the next Prime Minister, as they are likely to take on more debt as part of stimulus efforts. Goldman Sachs researchers warned that further sustained spikes in energy prices would send Britain’s inflation rate soaring above 22pc to the highest level since 1975. The bank said that a lengthy bout of rising gas prices would lead to the price cap climbing above £6,000 in January. Daily Telegraph. I blame Labour Bloody Corbyn |
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Post by neilsalop on Aug 31, 2022 14:17:33 GMT 1
Regarding the nationalization of energy (which by the way I think has it merits) and this current crisis though, would it help? I'm not sure I got that from the article. As isn't this down to supply and demand? Where countries have turned their back on fossil fuels without first making sure there are alternatives to bridge the gap (until other energy sources were generating enough to meet demand). Or in our case here, relying on the likes of Putin to do so. So the current price increase is down to bidding on a limited supply of alternatives from elsewhere? This for example, from the Wall Street Journal... “The underlying cause of Britain’s energy misery is its fixation with climate goals, especially the ambition to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2050. To meet that goal, Britain has grown hostile to domestic energy exploration banning shale-gas fracking and slapping windfall-tax profits on North Sea oil and gas producers that will deter investment. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has hurt, but the UK’s policies made its citizens vulnerable to global shock.”
How would the UK be better placed to deal with the current crisis if energy was in public ownership? Honest question. I have no doubt Burnham believes it would help I'm just wondering how. We don't have to nationalise the industry. All we need is to create a new national energy company, with substantially lower prices and no standing charge. The other companies would have no choice but to lower their prices to compete, if they don't they would lose every single customer. 40% of UK electricity is produced by renewable energy, but the energy companies have the whole country tied into an arrangement where most expensively produced electricity sets the price for all of it. Get rid of that arrangement and the average price for electricity would drop substantially. |
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Post by martinshrew on Aug 31, 2022 14:20:48 GMT 1
Regarding the nationalization of energy (which by the way I think has it merits) and this current crisis though, would it help? I'm not sure I got that from the article. As isn't this down to supply and demand? Where countries have turned their back on fossil fuels without first making sure there are alternatives to bridge the gap (until other energy sources were generating enough to meet demand). Or in our case here, relying on the likes of Putin to do so. So the current price increase is down to bidding on a limited supply of alternatives from elsewhere? This for example, from the Wall Street Journal... “The underlying cause of Britain’s energy misery is its fixation with climate goals, especially the ambition to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2050. To meet that goal, Britain has grown hostile to domestic energy exploration banning shale-gas fracking and slapping windfall-tax profits on North Sea oil and gas producers that will deter investment. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has hurt, but the UK’s policies made its citizens vulnerable to global shock.”
How would the UK be better placed to deal with the current crisis if energy was in public ownership? Honest question. I have no doubt Burnham believes it would help I'm just wondering how. We don't have to nationalise the industry. All we need is to create a new national energy company, with substantially lower prices and no standing charge. The other companies would have no choice but to lower their prices to compete, if they don't they would lose every single customer. 40% of UK electricity is produced by renewable energy, but the energy companies have the whole country tied into an arrangement where most expensively produced electricity sets the price for all of it. Get rid of that arrangement and the average price for electricity would drop substantially. I feel like if it were truly that simple it would've been done by now? |
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