Babelfish - Newspaper - Page 2
Babelfish BREAKING THE LINK
END THE GREAT
Meanwhile 昀氀ying, which is a
luxury, is VAT free. How does that
make sense?”
Mr Vince, who set up the
world’s
昀椀rst
green
energy
company 30 years ago, has
presented his strategy to bring
bills down and grow the economy
to the government and is
now distributing his 昀椀ndings – in
the form of this newspaper – to
every MP and Peer in the land.
So far, the only political leader
to support Mr Vince’s ‘breaking
the link’ proposition is the Liberal
Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey.
He said: “Until we break this link,
we will not see our bills come
down due to ever-increasing
amounts of green energy on the
grid – the global price of gas will
prevent that.”
LABOUR has been urged by
green entrepreneur Dale Vince
to reform Britain’s energy
market - to protect the nation
from soaring energy prices and
the broader economic impact
those have.
His three-point plan, which
could halve Britain’s energy
bills, is published today in a bid
to highlight the extent to which
our energy market is urgently in
need of reform – for the bene昀椀t
of consumers, businesses and the
wider economy.
Green industrialist Mr Vince
has long argued that the cost
of energy could be reduced by
‘breaking the link’ between the
global price of gas and the price
we pay for our home grown green
energy sources, the wind and sun.
Mr Vince has published several
reports into the economic impact
of this ‘link’ and today introduces
a new perspective – the wider
economic impact of our out of
control energy bills.
In昀氀ation
Independent analysis by the
respected National Institute of
Economic and Social Research
shows that if we had broken
the link at the height of the
energy crisis, the saving on our
energy bills would have had a
profound macro economic impact
- driving down in昀氀ation and
Bank of England lending rates,
reducing mortgages and the
overall cost of living – putting
hundreds of pounds into the
pockets of every Briton – while
adding a massive £30 billion to
our economy.
Mr Vince said: “In 2023
the link added £43 billion to
our energy bills which has a
number of knock-on impacts
‘Frankly ludicrous’
in our economy, it increases
the retail price index which is a
major in昀氀uence on Bank of
England lending rates, which
knocks on to mortgage rates, pay
bargaining and our general cost of
living.”
The campaigner is calling for
an urgent review of his threepoint plan, the second element of
which is ‘putting an arm around
the North Sea’ by using a green
energy mechanism to guarantee
oil and gas prices, protect jobs
and investment already made
– while the third is controlling
the pro昀椀t margins of the mostly
foreign owned Network Operators,
who make billions managing
privatised monopoly grids.
Mr Vince has calculated the
昀椀ve-year average saving to the
nation of all three measures to be
£20 billion per year.
Mr Vince also proposes a
‘progressive tariff’ for energy that
would exempt low consuming
households from the “stealth
taxes” that have accumulated
on our energy bills, adding
modestly to energy prices when
spread across the higher levels of
consumption while being neutral
to the Treasury.
And the removal of VAT from
our energy bills, which are a
necessity – applying that 5%
instead to 昀氀ying.
“VAT on energy is a regressive
form of tax,” says Mr Vince.
“Millions of people struggle
to pay their energy bills and
face the choice of heating or
eating, especially in the winter.
Dictators
Green leader Zack Polanski
– who has said in the past
“our energy bills soar because
successive governments have
shackled us to gas” – declined to
comment citing party politics.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband
recently told the BBC: “There is
only one route to get bills down
which is to go for clean power,
home-grown, clean energy, that we
control so we’re not at the behest of
the petrostates and the dictators.”
Mr Vince said he “absolutely
agreed” with that statement but
said: “We don’t control our own
prices now and won’t until we
actually break this link, waiting
for gas to ‘go away’ is not the
answer even if it could actually
work, 2030 is too late. I’ve heard
no good reason from anyone in
government for not breaking the
link. Now. Even Boris Johnson
could see it – describing the gas
price link as “frankly ludicrous.”
What are
break the
We’re Babelfish. Not quite straight out of
Hitchhiker’s Guide - but in the same vein. A
voice in your ear, making sense of the
nonsense. Talking your language. Un spinning
Solar
power plant in Spain
C
M
Y
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