PROFITS BEFORE (FUEL) POVERTY?

Perhaps they thought is was a good day to bury bad news, what with the News of the World / News Corp scandal raging to quietly announce yet another rise their prices and boost their profits. News that British Gas have decided to increase their profits by increasing their domestic customers bills should not shock us. The members of the energy cartel have long put the dividend and their profit in advance of any fears of putting people into fuel poverty. That's the price we all pay for the alleged 'free market' in energy supply.

For the record:

• Scottish Power will raise their gas prices from August 2011 by 19% (electricity prices will rise by 10%
• EDF (who incidentally owe the French Government some 44 billion euros) raised their gas prices by 6.5% and their electricity prices by 7.5% in March 2011
• NPower raised their gas prices by 6.5%  and their electricity prices by 5.1% in January 2011
• Scottish and Southern raised their gas prices by 9.4% in December 2010

Some 9 million British Gas customers will see their gas bills rise by some 18% next month - they will also face a 16% (on average) rise in the cost of their electricity. They (British Gas) even admitted that there was little point in people trying to change suppliers as the other members of the energy cartel are likely to raise their prices as well.

With some customers facing a 24% rise in their gas prices, many will face a rise of nearly £190 in their annual dual fuel bills. With according to uSwitch.com some 6.3 million households across the UK in fuel poverty this is not good news. With a painfully weak Con Dem Government on Westminster who dropped any ideas of investigating the energy market last year what hope have the ordinary energy consumers have of fair energy prices? None as far as I can see...

SLEEPING WITH HEDGEHOGS

The sadly painfully short demise of the News of the World (soon no doubt to be replaced by the Sun On Sunday (coincidently both www.sunonsunday.com and www.sunonsunday.co.uk were registered a few days ago) within a few months) has little to do with bringing any measure of comfort to those ordinary decent people (Celebs to one side for the moment) who have had their lives violated for the sake of tabloid headlines. It has everything to do with the Dirty Digger's desire to gain complete control of BSKYB and perhaps a little to do with the fall in the value of News Corp's share price.

I have to be brutally honest, personally I am not interested in the petty unimportant lives of celebrities or who or what they are sleeping with - as far as I am concerned they can sleep with consenting domestic livestock or even consenting hedgehogs - I honestly don't care! That aside as far as I am aware the pretty public breaking the Telecommunications Acts and the payment of money to police officers for information remain criminal offences.

Celebs aside, the final straw in the whole sorry business for most reasonable people's was no doubt the revelation that some tabloid journalists had been hacking the voice mails of murder victims (and their families), the victims (and their relatives) of the 7/7 terrorist atrocities and the widows and family members of service personal killed on active service in Afghanistan (and elsewhere) if that was not enough to make most people wonder what moral cesspit the journalists inhabited then nothing else would (a rough estimate suggests that there could be at least 4,000 hacking victims). No wonder a host of advertisers pulled their adds from the News of the World and various organisations from Mums Net to the British Legion began severing their connections with the Murdoch media empire.

More than a few serious issues have emerged - the fact that for the last twenty years some tabloid journalists no doubt encouraged by their editors have run riot and certainly broken various Telecommunications Act's is one key issue, the fact that Press self regulation has proved to be almost worthless along with the Press Complaints Commission which has proved to be almost entirely toothless. The exposure of the scale of the hacking of voice mails which in itself is serious and which also may have directly or indirectly interfered with serious police investigations (including murder enquiries) is worth of serious police investigation to say the least (not to mention a full and extensive public enquiry).

The spotlight light also needs to be shone on the relationship (commercial or otherwise) between the press and the police, especially as it appears that money may have changed hands for information. While we are at it the relationship between police press and communication staff and the press is also worth investigation as I colleague said to me 'let me know how that one goes!'Here I think in the interests of transparency it would be worth bringing in a Scottish Judge and a Scottish Police Force to investigate the admissions made by the now almost defunct News of the World. Why this has not been seriously investigated previously is one question that needs to be asked, especially as Rebekah Brooks admitted to the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee in April 2003 that police officers had been paid for information.

David Cameron and friend (Photo: Dafydd Jones)

What's also been exposed is David Cameron's judgement not to mention his choice of friends, spin doctors (Andy Coulson) and his fairly limited social circle (the Chipping Norton set), even the Daily Telegraph has in this case correctly questioned his judgement:

"In the careers of all prime ministers there comes a turning point. He or she makes a fatal mistake from which there is no ultimate recovery. With Tony Blair it was the Iraq war and the failure to find weapons of mass destruction. With John Major it was Black Wednesday and sterling’s eviction from the Exchange Rate Mechanism. With Harold Wilson, the pound’s devaluation in 1967 wrecked his reputation. Each time the pattern is strikingly similar. Before, there is a new leader with dynamism, integrity and carrying the faith of the nation. Afterwards, the prime minister can stagger on for years, but as increasingly damaged goods: never is it glad, confident morning again."

The relationship between News Corp and the Politicians has also been exposed (and the desperate desire on the part of those who want to obtain or retain power) and the length to which they will go to appease News Corp (it is worth remembering that Blair flew half-way around the world to get the Dirty Digger on board) and this is no bad thing. Although incidentally at the last Westminster General Election the Sun certainly did not win it for Cameron or entirely batter fading New Labour into complete electoral oblivion.

David Cameron's links in employing ex-News International staff such as Andy Coulson and his friendship with other high ranking officials in the company needs investigation. There is a need for an explanation of how David Cameron came to hire Mr Coulson (a then employee of News Corp), not to mention what checks were made, and what advice was taken before the appointment. They raise a fair point when asking for a check-list of those no longer so innocent social meetings with Rebekah Brooks (an employee of News Corp).

So far Downing Street has been more than a little reticent about Mr Cameron's meetings with Rupert Murdoch (owner of News Corp) who is thought to be one of the very first visitors that Cameron received once he emerged as Prime Minister. All these things have a different context because of the Dirty Digger's attempts to secure monopoly control over the British media by purchasing the remaining 61% of the satellite broadcaster BSkyB that he does not yet own.

No doubt there will be much continued speculation on the survival time of Rebekah Brooks the former editor of the News of the World and the Sun and currently chief executive of News International - it was she who edited the newspaper during some of its most controversial years and who must surely by now have moved from being an asset to that of a liability for News Corp. Yesterday we all saw the sacrifice of the the News of the World and its staff at the News of the World - possibly in a desperate effort to save the BSKYB deal and also Rebekah Brooks. Never have so many been sacrificed to save so few is one phrase that comes to mind.

Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson (Photo: BBC)

Before we get too carried away some words of caution, we must be very warry of over regulation (or over regulation) of the press as the forth estate serves a useful purpose as does investigative journalism, while no doubt some of those MPS who were caught with their hands in the till may think otherwise. The News of the World is now doubt merely on of the more prominent tabloids and its spectacular misdemeanour's (and ultimate demise). Not all newspapers are the same as the News of the World - we need a vigorous free press. We should remember that there is a world of difference between honest investigative journalism and the world of illegality and sleaze that has grown up (and been encouraged by editors and sub-editors) amongst certain sections of the tabloid press.

One final thought, one thing is certain New Labour's almost joyful attacks on Cameron (and News Corp) should be taken with a significant pinch of salt as it was New Labour spin that laid the groundwork for the war Iraq and sent too many of our service personnel to their untimely deaths. This has been going on for over twenty years politicians of all parties were desperate for coverage in the tabloids, promises were made blind eyes turned in return for tabloid support in election campaigns. The police looked the over way for similar media coverage of investigations (or for cash) and all of this gave a degree of entirely unacceptable protection from the law to the tabloid press.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

The news that Llangattock Green Valleys project won the Welsh final of the British Gas challenge in 2009, and also won the UK title as well is good news. It shows what's possible and what can be done when people have ownership of a local community beneficial project. Winning means that Llangattock (Powys) has won £100,000 to spend on a local environmental project.The village was chosen from 100 projects across the UK to be one of the final 14 communities who would go head-to-head over 14 months as part of the Green Streets challenge, a project which helps communities not just to save energy but to actually generate their own energy. Combinations of solar panels and 100 radiator panels were installed at the village school, along with an source heat pump to the village hall, and 43 homes in Llangattock installed 655 energy efficiency measures including insulation, solar panels, a biomass boiler, multi-fuel stoves and new boilers. As a result the community is expected to save £62,000 over five years and nearly 200 tonnes of CO2. All in all that's actually pretty impressive and is literally case of power to the people!

ROLL-BACK?

You don't have to dig too deep (if at all) to find the less than hidden Conservatives lifted Republican (US) not quite progressive sub-text that sits (still wrapped in watered down right wing republican (US) anti big government rhetoric) behind this Conservative driven right wing coalition government. Cameron's Con Dem's have the Cabinet Office's Red Tape Challenge which was relatively quietly launched in April (2011) which is an on-line only process of asking members of the public (well motivated or not) of re-considering a whole lot of regulations (which give teeth to most laws) and thereby telling the Con Dem's which work and which don't - with the dangled carrot being that the 'burdensome regulations' (laws) will go!

Now don't get me wrong I am no great fan of obsessive and overburdening Governance, but, there is more to this than first meets the eye. One of the pieces of legislation (sorry regulations) that has been 'flagged up' is the Countryside Rights of Way Act (CRoWA) which was passed some ten years ago (and effects Wales and England) and gave access rights (basically the right to roam) to thousands of acres of formerly out of bounds lands to walkers and members of the public. It is (somewhat ironically) difficult to remember how little access people had (even within our National Parks) before CRoWA was passed. The legislation resulted in an increase in the amount of land with statutory permanent access in Snowdonia increased by some 620% and in the Brecon Beacons by some 1,565%.

Obviously that old traditional reactionary (if nearly spun out of sight) streak in the Conservatives would love to repeal this (and no doubt other socially useful) legislation, but the Conservatives (and their Liberal Democrat little helpers) dare not do so openly for fear of electoral damage at the hands of the voters. When the original Act was passed there were some well organised mutterings from some (but by no means all) landowners who did not want people wandering over their land (and no doubt disturbing their game). A number of concerned walking groups are now concerned that there may be concerted attempt from some landowners (and their supporters) to weaken or undermine the CRoW Act, thus enabling the Con Dem's to repeal sections of regulations and re-restrict public access.

If my (and other peoples) interpretation of the way the Red Tape Challenge works is correct then if enough people object too (or flag up enough objections) to specific regulations then they may get specific regulations repealed and any legislation will either be weakened or undermined and become untenable. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has said that this is not the case: 'Defra is committed to enhancing the natural environment and there are no plans to remove important environmental protections' - I won't hold my breath on that one!

CRoWA significantly eased access to many parts of Wales for all of us, with the exception of our rivers (here talk to any canoeist and they will tell you at length how restricted access to our rivers actually is in the 21st century). Rivers aside for another day, what worries me is whether or not the near inert Labour government in Cardiff Bay will even notice any of these potential developments, which could have an impact on walker and tourist generated incomes across the whole of Wales. Nominally at least the spotlight is on health and safety, pensions, equalities, company law, employment related law and environmental legislation, the website is open for comment until September 1st 2011 - so don't say that you have not been warned!

PAYING THE PRICE?

When it comes to developing (or devolving) energy resources there is always a price, either paid for by the indigenous inhabitants (i.e. us) and / or by the environment. The snipping between Westminster and Cardiff Bay over the 50 MW rule is only a symptom of a greater problem - our ever increasing need for and our dependency on the energy we need to make our society function. The extraction of oil form the tars sands of Alberta, the extraction of fractured gas (from under parts of the south of Wales) or the construction of wind farms (largely run by and for the profits of companies based out side of Wales) all comes with a price that someone (often local people) end up paying.

Some of these potential energy resources are costly in a variety of ways, not just environmentally - if the basic rule of thumb (even with relatively high prices per barrel in the case of oil) is one unit of energy in for the ten units of energy out - then some of the prosed developments and their returns are marginal at best. In the case of tar sands to extract one barrel of oil, you need to burn 1,400 cubic feet (US) of natural gas, to polluter 250 gallons (US) of fresh water (and then store or clean the polluted water) and emit over 220 pounds (US) of carbon dioxide. Incidentally (and just for the record) in 2009/2010 the USA used some 19 million barrels of oil per day.

The environmental price for fractured gas is equally grim, and if this goes a head we will all get to live with the residual environmental pollution for years and years afterwards and see scant medium to long term benefits and get parts of our country and some of our communities trashed as part of the process. The palpable anger in parts of Mid Wales over the development of Wind farms and the electricity grid to carry the energy away is only the start - this row is going to rumble on, the reason I say this is that fundamentally the decisions about developing energy resources in Wales are being made in Westminster and fundamentally the development to communities across the length and breadth of Wales.

Glyn Davies, the much respected Conservative MP for Montgomeryshire (and former AM) has somewhat honestly said that his constituents should target their protests at Westminster rather than Cardiff Bay, which if nothing else is a backhanded and belated recognition of the fact that decision making over energy development and energy policy is made outside of Wales. Basically its not for us (the Welsh People) to decide or to benefit form decision made outside of Wales, but, we will have to live day in day out with the consequences - that state of affairs is something the voters of Montgomery and the voters of Bridgend may come to regret along with the rest of us.

LIGHTS ON? NOBODY HOME?

A Shelter Cymru survey states that 21% of respondents were spending less on heating, and 28% had cut back on food to meet rent or mortgage payments (The survey of 1,000 + Welsh adults Shelter Cymru was carried out by YouGov at the beginning of June). The charity said the core problem was a lack of affordable homes. Despite this nominal First Minister Carwyn Jones has blamed the rise in Welsh homelessness in the last year on UK government cuts. It's also worth noting that this Labour Government in Cardiff has actually set no target to build affordable homes, and appears to have abandoned the excellent work carried out by Jocelyn Davies AM (who was previously the Minster for Housing).

This period of phoney (if not inert) governance is actually sadly somewhat ironic, as during the last Welsh General election campaign, Labour made a great deal of it's promise to deliver for Wales. We are now about two months into a new Assembly term and so far there has been no progress, no wonder people are beginning to wonder what this government is actually doing? It's almost like Carwyn's Labour Government is literally trapped between not knowing what they want to do and not knowing how to do it. What a waste of time, space and effort? How long until we get a real government?

EXIT STAGE LEFT (PURSUED BY PLAID)!

There is a bit of a spat (or a row rumbling on) between Cardiff and Westminster in relation to energy and decision making. Carwyn (Jones) is busy standing up for Wales - possibly with a few choice asides or stage whispers? Odd that, especially as the Wales Office Minister David Jones informed Westminster MPs (on the 29th June) that the UK Westminster Government had received no formal request to devolve the power to decide large energy projects from Westminster to Cardiff Bay. Apparently the First Minister may have raised the matter of devolving energy consents directly with the UK Government, on three separate specific occasions since the Welsh General election in May.Odd that the or his predecessors never quite managed to raise their voice once during the 13 years of alleged joined up Labour Government? I am sure that Peter (Hain) would have been able to help? Or perhaps not?