15, April

Dale Vince: An amazing collection this…

An amazing collection this, of hope over reason. Britain just invested £600m into Rolls Royce’s ‘mini nuke’ program - that was always coming. But here we see it’s being done in the hope that these things can be built faster than the big versions that are famously slow and always late. Hope. This sentiment get’s worse when we hear that this mini nuke investment is intended as an answer to the middle east inspired - second fossil fuel crisis of this decade so far. The ‘hope’ is to have the first three up and running by 2035, nine whole years from now. This crisis will be over by then and the ones that will follow. How on earth can anyone think that something coming in ten years is an answer to a crisis we’re in right now? And that’s not all. Rachael Reeves is right to flag the importance of making our own energy here, to protect us from future crises - but she overlooks the elephant in the room (no not Trump) - we don't set the price of electricity made here, whether from the wind, sun or nuclear. Global fossil markets do. So these nukes could appear tomorrow, could even make affordable energy - but it won't affect our electricity bills at all - because all of the stuff we make here is priced somewhere else. Why won't Labour grasp this nettle - we need to break the link between the price of fossil gas and the price of all other forms of electricity made here. That (and only that) can bring bills down immediately. And protect us for the future. Legislation to do it exists - only the will seems missing. We can find £600m for tech that might help us in ten years (big bold announcement) - but not the courage to take on this foolish market mechanism. Shame. https://independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/rolls-royce-smr-nuclear-reactor-iran-b2957118.html

Dale Vince: An amazing collection this…

https://x.com/DaleVince/status/2044352590364709284

02, May #CostOfLiving

Dale Vince: The biggest tax increase in British history…

The biggest tax increase in British history is being done by stealth. Since the Tories froze the annual tax free allowance in 2021, instead of raising it in line with inflation, 2 million more people have been dragged into the income tax bracket - raising nearly £100 Billion. That’s shocking. If this government won't or can’t remove this new tax burden from the poorest among us, they should introduce a tax at the high end of wealth - to be fair. They could raise £26 Billion a year, a very similar sum actually to the income tax stealth move - and it would be super fair, a tiny 2% tax on wealth above £10 million. It’s wrong to place the burden only on those at the lowest end of earnings and wealth. I want to live in a fairer country, for that we need a fairer tax system. We need to reform the one we have. It was written by people with money for people with money, at 3,000 pages long it’s ten times that of other nations - because it’s chock full of exemptions and loopholes.

#CostOfLiving

01, May #CostOfLiving

Dale Vince: The biggest tax increase in British history…

The biggest tax increase in British history is being done by stealth. Since the Tories froze the annual tax free allowance in 2021, instead of raising it in line with inflation, 2 million more people have been dragged into the income tax bracket - raising nearly £100 Billion. That’s shocking. If this government won't or can’t remove this new tax burden from the poorest among us, they should introduce a tax at the high end of wealth - to be fair. They could raise £26 Billion a year, a very similar sum actually to the income tax stealth move - and it would be super fair, a tiny 2% tax on wealth above £10 million. It’s wrong to place the burden only on those at the lowest end of earnings and wealth. I want to live in a fairer country, for that we need a fairer tax system. We need to reform the one we have. It was written by people with money for people with money, at 3,000 pages long it’s ten times that of other nations - because it’s chock full of exemptions and loopholes.

#CostOfLiving

29, April #WarSpillover

Dale Vince: Well, class A delusional…

Well, class A delusional - who else ever thought he was a nice guy….:) Oh and Iran had signed a non nuclear deal, which Trump broke. And have repeatedly offered another - until the latest sneak attack during negotiations, by the US led by Israel. If they, Iran, end up with a nuke we’ll all have Trump to thank. If they end up running the straight or Hormuz like it’s the Panama Canal - we’ll all have Trump to thank. So much to thank him for, we’ll get tired of thanking him..:)

#WarSpillover

21, April

Dale Vince: What’s interesting in this story...

What’s interesting in this story is that 'UK and European stocks lost billions’ in the last week after the government announced it was going to ‘break the link’ - presumably now the detail is out and it’s not actually breaking this link - stocks will rebound in value. That tells us all we need to know - real breaking of the link would have been bad for big business - this mere weakening of it is just bad for consumers - same as it ever was.

17, April

Dale Vince: Labour appears to be getting serious…

Labour appears to be getting serious about ‘breaking the link’ - this is the single biggest thing they can do to tackle energy bills in this crisis and beyond. The benefits are huge, in the last crisis this link cost the taxpayer £70Billion. I wrote this for the FT a few months ago - and have been sharing the numbers with DESNZ and the Treasury for some time.