REFORM Party Questions.....

[Modernfamily2011]

Genuine question here, I do not want to start arguments but i'm honestly curious as to the hate for the Reform party....... I will be the first to admit that politics is absolutely not my strong point but this Election and for the last few months I have been doing a lot of research

I will not be voting Conservatives but Labour don't fill me with any confidence either, the Reform party Manifesto actually looks good, I would love the minimum income tax rate to be raised, Stamp Duty threshold to be higher, NHS change, energy bills to be lower etc

Am I just a little naïve and is this just a case of Farage talking nonsense? A bit like the Brexit debacle? Surely if these policies could have been implemented then they would have and where would the money come from? Farage is an excellent speaker and he knows how to play the public, there is no doubt about that

I would love some insight from those who know a little more about politics than me!

The problem there is the levy that would need to be applied to other forms of energy in order to develop and install it. Even then, there are only two tides per day, and the UK is unlikely to ever be able to power more than a small percentage of its demand using tidal energy according to most of the reports I've read.

That renewable levy is what has pushed up the price of energy significantly in recent years, exacerbated by the Ukraine situation.

@JassyRadlett I 100% agree with the IFS guy - and yes the greens are very guilty of it too - yep I would love £20k personal allowances or student loans got rid of etc, etc but the other party's who have any hope of power or even being in coalition are as he says made to look unexciting because they aren't offering all this largesse-the Tory's know the score and Labour have seen the books! It's about 'the team' too and whilst not everyone's bag I would trust Starmer, Reeves and Yvette cooper to be able to deliver an awful lot more even with restricted resources than anyone in Reform or the Greens . None who have any government or even opposition experience and clearly aren't in a position to know the numbers. Yes we can print money- but this then causes other issues - I actually vote Lib Dem due to where I live- but would happily vote Labour too.Reform are playing on the economically illiterate and fear of immigration (and I am def not of the let anyone and everyone in mentality) and the greens are playing on the guardanista 'want a more radical left solution' without knowing remotely what there is to play with- and a few of their policy's are batshit-

The economics of tidal are currently very very difficult, especially compared to the cheapest renewables such as solar PV and onshore wind. However we do know that these technologies tend to get much cheaper much faster than most folks project so it's one to keep an eye on. There is also the question of where the costs sit - they don't have to go on bills, there are other more progressive ways to subsidise emerging technologies - but we haven't gone down that route to date.

I would however gently point out that while high tides only happen twice a day, tides themselves are constant and if the economics can work tidal would be excellent baseload, on a par with hydro. And we'll always need baseload (though less than some of the sun doesn't shine/wind doesn't blow folks would have you believe - offshore wind reliability is very high and combined with interconnectors and other baseload (eg nuclear, large storage as it becomes economic, limited abated CCGT for balancing) it's pretty good.

I fully agree, apart from the base load. That base load is increasing, especially with the uptake of electric cars, although if everyone could charge them at predictable times, it would make planning easier. The electric buses in London are a good example of this. They are currently charged overnight by diesel generators as the supply has not yet been installed for them by the grid.

I agree too that the costs could go elsewhere, although all the while the energy companies are privately owned, those costs will come out of the pockets of the consumers one way or the other. It sure as hell won't come out of the owner dividends or management bonuses.

Grid balancing and demand flex (and digital energy in general) are two of the most fascinating bits of energy system change and if done properly could displace massive amounts of generation demand - and there's decent evidence that consumers already respond well to timing price signals and with the consumer experience smoothed it could be a huge game changer - changes such as V2G, smart functionality on EV charge points and potential for automatic demand flex are all quite exciting.

Never less than gripping ....

https://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/

There is a snag though. If I understand that correctly, it enables the power company to control whether your car is charging or not, leaving you with the possibility that you wake up, try to go to work, and find your car hasn't charged overnight. This would be suboptimal.

Demand side control will always be pants. We can all remember the 3 day week ...

The final missing piece for EVs is autonomy. Then they can fuck off and charge at night when we are sleeping.

However when that was last discussed at a grown up conference, it was noted that quite apart from primal the "it's mine !!!!" that cars seem to evoke in (most) people, there is also the rather delicate question of making people aware that the second biggest expense in their lives is probably spending the better part of 80% of their existence doing fuck all on someones drive.

If you really wanted to talk about green savings, that's probably the best place to start.

And then you get to the planet saving conference, and everyone says "Yes, but not like that".

It will depend on how it's regulated and how the companies then run it - in line with consumer needs and with adequate control for consumers.

Ultimately the energy companies that get it right will be more attractive to customers. But equally as a consumer you'd look for control over battery levels, time of flex etc.

We can all remember the 3 day week ...

I suspect a good many here can't unfortunately.

The final missing piece for EVs is autonomy. Then they can fuck off and charge at night when we are sleeping.

Now that would be really good. A proper use for automated vehicles. That and driving me home from the pub.

And then you get to the planet saving conference, and everyone says "Yes, but not like that".

Problem is, we aren't (collectively) really interested in saving the planet. If we were we could do a lot more about it, but there would be horrific impact to the economies of the world which would need a very different approach to solve.

On an individual or even a country level, it doesn't really make any difference while China, Russia, and India are pumping shit into the atmosphere. Any of those in isolation can ruin it for the rest of the world. India, to be fair, at least appear to be making inroads.

I feel for the young. No wonder there is such a high rate of depression amongst young people. Economy screwed, planet screwed, and nobody to vote for. It is an interesting topic, but we should continue it on another thread as we are digressing.

If your understanding of energy technology hasn't advanced since the 70s I can kind of see where the issue is....

Consumer-driven demand flex take up has been higher than projected (and ultimately much higher than was needed in the tight winter margins of 22/23) and grid balancing has advanced just a tiny bit in the last 45 years.

But as you say, we digress massively.

If your understanding of energy technology hasn't advanced since the 70s I can kind of see where the issue is....

Sigh

Problem is, we aren't (collectively) really interested in saving the planet. I

Well only if someone else goes first ....

If your understanding of energy technology hasn't advanced since the 70s I can kind of see where the issue is....

I'd like to hope that most people here have a more advanced understanding than that.

On the subject of electric vehicles, I think the Chinese model is better. They have a removable battery that is common to a number of cars. When it goes flat, you drive in, swap the battery, and drive out. A lot like filling with fuel. Batteries could then be charged in a more controllable way.

On the subject of electric vehicles, I think the Chinese model is better. They have a removable battery that is common to a number of cars.

The problem with that is how do you then lock buyers into your vision of the future ?

For all the greenybollox spoken by Sunak and the sharks, the simplest thing they could have done was mandate replaceable batteries. But that would upset their cronies.

Look how long it took to finally get a vaguely standard phone charging connector - and how much electrical waste has been created as a result.

Look how long it took to finally get a vaguely standard phone charging connector - and how much electrical waste has been created as a result.

Don't get me started on that one. One of my friends was on the ETSI committee and was pushing this for a decade. I think it relates to the car battery thing as it makes manufacturers conform. Amazing that the Chinese were there first with something that benefits the environment. Maybe they aren't all bad.

I think China will eventually be subsumed by the culture they sought to eclipse.

Interesting. I've been thinking recently it would be the other way around.

Capitalism and it's accoutrements are a very addictive and habit forming drug. Look what it's done to the west. And east.

China wouldn't be the first country to think they could tame the beast.

I can see the lure. I think they have too much the is consumed by the west for them to need to bother though. They could conceivably end up with their own version not involving us though. Other than as consumers of what they peddle.