Brexit mega thread : part 9 : Winter is Coming

[Chevyimpala67]

Part 10 of our long running thread.

Not sure what to say, really, other than it is worse than I feared.

Strap in, folks. It's gonna be a rough ride...

Under the spending plans approved today, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all receiving at least as much as they did before, while also being free from bureaucratic EU processes and having greater say in how the money is used.

www.gov.uk/government/news/government-kickstarts-26-billion-investment-in-communities-as-uk-takes-back-control-of-eu-funding

Brexit benefit, or hollow spin?

£515M over 6 years vs £350M over 30 years for Cornwall, let me think.......

Brexshitters aren't known for their clarity of thought...

From The Guardian

I wasn't sure whether to cry or get angry watching this video about a volunteer led centre in Newcastle, it was a mix of both. That people have to live like this now, that there is no safety net anymore, apart from the amazing work of volunteers. Highlights the lack of council housing now, another example of how the safety net has gone, and how the cost of living crisis means that people are struggling for basics like heating. It shouldn't be like this in 2022.

The women on a 'war footing' as the cost of living crisis deepens – video

www.theguardian.com/global/video/2022/dec/06/the-women-on-a-war-footing-as-the-cost-of-living-crisis-deepens-video

Thank you @HappyWinter for posting that video. It’s reminded me to contribute to our local shelter. It’s the disparity that shocks. Along with the nepotism and mismanagement and self interest that feels to be at the heart of British politics.

mobile.twitter.com/BestForBritain/status/1600443582573264896

more winning. If only somebody had warned about food security before we triggered article 50.

But didn't Dim Dom Raaaaaab promise us that one of the incredible benefits of Brexshit was that there would be "adequate food"?

R4 just announced that the government is going to use more private healthcare companies to ‘help’ the NHS backlog.

Their plan has gone perfectly according to plan. Starve the NHS, mismanage a pandemic and then rake it in when you’re forced to outsource care.

Its more than that though, this interesting piece of research published in 2022, which studied MP behaviour when also working in 2nd jobs, found MPs of the governing Conservative Party, who earn more than 75% of all outside income, significantly change both the content of their parliamentary behavior as well as their effort when they have 2nd jobs. Not so obvious as handing out contracts to mates, more changes that are quite subtle in relation to attendance, voting records, and parliamentary questions asked.

However, this is on top of raking it in with health care interest. Makes me think Starmer is wrong to focus so much on reforms for the Lords

O'Dowd, A., 2014. Fifth of coalition MPs have links to private healthcare firms. BMJ: British Medical Journal (Online), 349.

www.thelondoneconomic.com/opinion/revealed-the-links-between-tory-mps-and-the-people-profiting-from-nhs-privatisation-213827/

www.thenational.scot/news/18255016.revealed-links-conservatives-private-healthcare/

More Brexit winning for the city.

Big Bang 2, UK banking rules in biggest shake-up in more than 30 years

The reforms "seize on our Brexit freedoms to deliver an agile and home-grown regulatory regime that works in the interest of British people and our businesses".

Except
It is worth noting that although this will be billed as a Brexit freedom, the EU is undertaking similar reforms.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63905505

@DrBlackbird

Given up on Labour, unable to support NHS workers, nothing on NHS staffing, nothing on pollution... terrible EU/Brexit statements, nothing on energy help, by April we will all be paying 3x what we were last spring...

But like the Tories they pull out a policy that is, in reality, totally irrelevant - Labour - HoL abolition... Tories - Banking reforms.

There are around 7m who cannot heat their homes.. Labours response is beyond pathetic.

there is no hope from recent Labour speeches, back in 1996/97 i had real excitement that Labour would bring about change, don't get this with Starmer, he lacks vision or at least wont tell us what his is.

www.washingtonpost.com/business/sunaks-post-brexit-britain-is-becoming-a-worst-case-scenario/2022/12/08/6161eec0-76be-11ed-a199-927b334b939f_story.html

"Britain’s largest packaging company will close its factory in Kent and continue to expand production in Europe, warning that a planned bonfire of EU laws risked plunging the UK into a deeper economic crisis"

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63905505

Wrong link

www.ft.com/content/349072ab-b503-4d73-8e95-75b90c195e24?desktop=true&segmentId=d8d3e364-5197-20eb-17cf-2437841d178a#myft:notification:instant-email:content

@Alexandra2001 thing is the moment he tells us what his vision is, the Tories will nick it and make it their policy. He can't win.

If I had a vote (I don't, am an EU national) I'd have to vote Labour in my constituency just to get the Tories out.

Don't both Labour and the Conservatives currently have pretty much the same policy on energy help?

If I remember rightly Labour wanted 6 months, Truss legislated for 2 years of help and Hunt subsequently rolled it back to last 6 months, so the same as Labour. The only area of difference I recall is that Labour wanted it paid for via windfall tax and the Conservatives said they didn't...and then Hunt introduced one to start on Jan 1st.

The Decline and Fall of the British Empir. In six volumes.

But, Sovereignty! Sunlit Uplands!

Yes with neither side saying how they will fund energy support going forward for the next few years.. even if the war finished tomo, we wont be buying Russian gas so long as Putin is still there..

But of course both sides are doubling down for a long bloody conflict.

Windfall taxes wont provide the monies required but targeted support would.. combined with WFT's.

I agree, Alexandra. I'd not really thought about this not being resolved unti Putin leaves but I suspect you are correct. Honestly I'm somewhat dismayed that the support for everyone is ending in March, or at least that there isn't a committment to continue it until energy prices fall. What we'll have instead is targetted support which is great for those who get it but lots of people just above whatever eligibilty threshold is set will still be struggling IMO.

Yes @LouiseCollins28 the support needs to be targeted but tiered.. so we all get xx number of subsidised units but if you use more, with out good reason e.g disabled etc then you pay the market rate... it seems crazy the well off but wasteful get the same support... i would assume we are even giving cheap energy to the Russian embassy?

Its a huge issue hurtling down the track at both the Cons and eventually Labour, they are going to asked what their plans are.

Instead we have the Cons talking about banking reform and Labour House of Lords... thrilling stuff...

..and neither looking at how to improve trade with the EU...

"if you use more without a good reason" who in sweet hell is going to adjudicate that?!

Universal support has the huge advantage that it can be introduced quickly and since noone is means tested, no one gets missed. Extra targetted support is also good because it gives more help to those in greater need.

What I suspect we'll end up with is people on means tested benefits paying very low bills because they are subsided through continued support from April. Meanwhile, those who's income amount is very similar overall but it's earned by going out to work will be left to struggle on unassisted beyond April. They'll be footing the bill for all the support given so far (to everyone) through higher taxes for decades to come. I hope I'm wrong.

Thats why we go for tiered support.... universal but not unlimited usage.. it would be easy to extend support for those on PIP etc.

Means testing is stupid as is giving only to UC claimants for the reasons you gave.

But what would you do for business? thats what drives the economy & is of huge cost... consumers can cut back, business far less so.

Energy costs are something a business should take accout of in it's planning. Any business worth its salt should set its prices so that it makes enough to keep itself goinga and also enough in good times to have built up large reserves so that it need not draw on public support. Businesses that are critical to the UKs industrial future which are high energy users might have a case for support from taxpayers even if they haven't been prudent and built up said reserves.

Businesses in other sectors which aren't so critical but nonetheless have high energy needs, have a multitude of choices about how they deal with this. Some examples:

Raise prices for their customers
Offer lower returns for their shareholders
Use reserves of cash to meet their energy needs
Sell business assets to build reserves to pay for higher energy costs
Reduce the scale of their operations and lay off some of their staff
Cease trading temporarily, so "hibernate", and prepare to restart when prices fall and/or their usage falls because it has some seasonal element.