The 2010 Budget and its environmental aspect

Today in the United Kingdom the Chancellor of the Exchequer – effectively the finance minister of the country – laid out his budget statement. Mr Darling headlined his budget as one to secure the recovery. What recovery? Well, the bankers have seen their bonuses recover greatly but for most ordinary people the recession is a reality and the recovery a myth. The environmental impact of the budget is dealt with separately these days, and that is a “Good Thing” because it enables us to see the actual measures that will affect the environment in some detail.

Why fuel prices are getting higher

If you live in the United Kingdom you will almost certainly be driving less in the near future because it will cost you more to drive than ever before. Petrol prices are rising and will soon be close to £1.20 a litre and there are several reasons for this.

A referendum on Scottish independence; how would the English vote?

The Scots will be holding a referendum in which the Scottish people will be asked whether they want to break away from the rest of the United Kingdom and become an independent nation again, after three hundred years of Union with England, Wales and Ireland.

Does Mr Darling live in the real world?

I sometimes wonder what planet Mr Alistair Darling, Chancellor of the Exchequer, lives on. He is surrounded by advisors, insulated from the real world. If he meets industrialists or business people, they will be the people who run massive conglomerates, who have their own agenda. He went to Lorreto School, nothing wrong with that, but a small elite boarding school hardly is real world living, for most of us. If Mr Brown’s jibe about Tory economic policy being thought up on the playing fields of Eton has a kernel of truth, then how much truer is the fact that Labour economic policy is connected to the playing fields of Loretto.

Why some promises are more equal than others

It seems that all the United States Banks that received US Government tax dollars have repaid the money or will shortly repay the money in full. These banks needed what proved to be a relatively short term loan to help them get back on their feet an help the American economy on its way to recovery. The United Kingdom lent tax pounds to several banks but these banks have no chance of repaying the UK government in the short or even medium term.

Mr Darling’s support for the environment

When Alistair Darling was in charge of the Department of Trade & Industry he, together with Peter Truscott and the Department’s civil servants conceived a programme to incentivise the use of micro generated renewable energy which did, in my judgement as someone who runs one of the United Kingdom’s few microgeneration industries, did more harm than good and acted as a disincentive to the installation of microgeneration.

Please vote on Thursday

The United Kingdom will be holding two elections on Thursday. One Election will be for representation in Europe where Members of the European Parliament will be elected, and another will be for local authorities, where local councillors will be elected. There is no doubt that the elections will be very bad for the Labour Party. It will end up as a death by a thousand cuts. The Labour Party is the party that governs the United Kingdom. They have to take the blame for the expenses scandal that is making us all so cross. The fish stinks from its head.

The UK needs immediate constitutional reform

There is a great deal of talk in the United Kingdom about a new constitution; we have been shaken out of our lethargy and belief that our unwritten constitution provides us with the best possible system of government by a terrible scandal in which it has been revealed that the majority of our elected representatives and some of the appointed representatives have been taking from the public purse for their own enrichment.

Solar grants for not for profit organisations

I have been very critical of the United Kingdom’s solar thermal grant programme, especially when it was announced by Lord Truscott, in that it was poorly designed and conceived. I corresponded with Lord Truscott, (who was Energy Minister at that time) pointing out the serious deficiencies in the subsidies, particularly in what is called Phase 2 Low carbon Buildings Programme.  You can read the correspondence on the Genersys website at www.genersys-solar.com. Unfortunately, even though my comments and suggestions were supported by most of the solar industry, the Government Leviathan could not change its course.

The resignation of the Speaker does not draw a line under MPs expenses scandal

The Speaker of the House of Commons has advised everyone that he will resign on 21^st June. It is clear that he has performed inadequately in bringing the issue of MPs expenses under control. He has fought to preserve the independence of the House of Commons without realising that its independence is not supposed to be self serving, but serving the purpose of democracy. We need the House of Commons to be fearless and independent of outside forces and it has to be this way in order to uphold the democracy that we cherish, not the privileges of members we elect to serve us.