Is that it? After rumours of a big change in electricity policy coming (with frothy excitement in energy geek land), Ed Miliband this week lifted the curtain. The headline from the Government comms machine was ‘decisive action’ to ‘break the link between gas and electricity prices’. And yet the reality was uninspiring, underbaked and unambitious. […]
Last month, Friedrich Merz was sworn in at the head of a new government in Germany, promising a new era of lower taxes, higher growth and tougher migration policy. In many respects, this is standard fare for a centre-right leader cleaning up after left-wing drift. But buried in the 144-page coalition agreement was a quietly […]
Another week, another blow to Ed Miliband. Yesterday the plug was pulled on a huge offshore windfarm, Hornsea 4, that could have powered more than two million homes. The owner Ørsted, the Danish state-owned company (and inspiration for Ed’s pet project GB Energy), announced it was ‘discontinuing the project in its current form’, incurring £400-500m […]
Keir Starmer famously won power this summer by pursuing a ‘Ming vase’ strategy – say as little as possible, and let the incumbent government lose the election. But one notable exception was Ed Miliband, and his pledge to decarbonise the power grid by 2030, five years ahead of the previous government’s target of 2035. Never […]
When I first moved to this country more than eight years ago, among the (many) quirks of London life I encountered was that every day at lunch, the cashier at Pret would insist on asking if I planned to eat in or take my lunch away. After initially thinking ‘when in Rome’, one day I […]
Earlier this week, the Government released the results of its latest renewable power auction – that rare bit of good news that both Ed Miliband and Claire Coutinho can get behind. After last year’s annus horribilis for offshore wind, it’s a welcome boost for the sector, alongside onshore wind, solar, and more – 131 projects […]
Last month’s announcement of the latest price cap level was good news for consumers everywhere – because energy prices are continuing their downward trajectory. From the staggeringly high levels of the Energy Price Guarantee which ended last summer (£2,500, itself heavily subsidised), we’ll be down to an average annual dual fuel bill of £1,690 from April, £238 […]
If you ask the average person what springs to mind when they think of green policy, they’ll likely mention electric vehicles, wind turbines or heat pumps. All spot on. But the Government has just made a huge step forward towards Net Zero – and it barely seems to have registered. Welcome to the world of […]
The last few years have seen extraordinary changes in the energy markets. Prices spiking to levels that would have been unthinkable just a short time ago. The Government stepping in to directly subsidise energy bills at a staggering cost to taxpayers, and round after round of supplier failures, with the costs pushed onto consumers. But […]
Britain is a nation of drivers. Of the 645bn km travelled in Great Britain in 2021, 88% were by car, van or taxi. Precisely because so many of us drive, getting the policy right in this area is vitally important for our everyday lives – but it’s difficult to argue that motorists in this country […]
Every time you fill up your car at the pump, you are paying for the UK’s biofuels mandate – a green levy with pretty questionable ‘green’ credentials. Although almost nobody seems aware of it, the E10 and B7 grades at the forecourt require a certain percentage of biofuels to be blended into petrol and diesel […]
