Budget 2024

[inbetween]

But if you earn less than £50k that would be an INCREASE in pension allowance, so a good thing for the majority of workers.It's interesting you only see it from the perspective of someone who is getting a bigger benefit. Would a reduction from marginal rate to 30% or 25% put people off investing in their pension?-I very much doubt it.

By energy companies who do you actually mean. For example Octopus have just made their first profit at a margin of 1.6%-they are hardly ripping us off at that rate. I would like to see some change to standing charges though as it is a scandal that the first £380 we all pay buys us not one Kwh of gas or electricity.

We're effectively at war with the world's largest gas supplier at a time when we've transitioned to an energy system that is mostly reliant upon gas. Of course it was never going to end well.

It's time to nationalise the entire sector to be honest and allow government to better control pricing and manage costs. The sector is too fragmented and too open to cost manipulation and speculation which has already bankrupted many suppliers, something we're now paying for via increasing standing charges.

 

[hampshireblue]

We're effectively at war with the world's largest gas supplier at a time when we've transitioned to an energy system that is mostly reliant upon gas. Of course it was never going to end well.

It's time to nationalise the entire sector to be honest and allow government to better control pricing and manage costs. The sector is too fragmented and too open to cost manipulation and speculation which has already bankrupted many suppliers, something we're now paying for via increasing standing charges.

I agree but i'm still not sure which "energy" companies @PPT is referring to. Does he mean the likes of Shell, BP etc or those we actually pay our bills to. I guess only he knows.

 

[PPT]

I agree but i'm still not sure which "energy" companies @PPT is referring to. Does he mean the likes of Shell, BP etc or those we actually pay our bills to. I guess only he knows.

I’d nationalise all of the utilities in a heartbeat. However, I don’t believe it would improve things. The history of any government nationalising anything isn’t good.

 

[ganganvince]

Getting older now starting to look at things like inheritance tax always thought it affected other people but with the missus not being married (engaged 30 years) if I croak first could be a problem for her.

 

[PPT]

Getting older now starting to look at things like inheritance tax always thought it affected other people but with the missus not being married (engaged 30 years) if I croak first could be a problem for her.

My mate who is in a similar situation is getting married in January. It really is the sensible thing to do.

 

[hampshireblue]

I’d nationalise all of the utilities in a heartbeat. However, I don’t believe it would improve things. The history of any government nationalising anything isn’t good.

I agree. It may not improve things but at least it's HMG that's on the hook. At present profits are made and either not re-invested or, in many cases used by foreign owners to help keep utility bills lower in their own country. We are effectively subsidising foreign consumers.

 

[PPT]

I agree. It may not improve things but at least it's HMG that's on the hook. At present profits are made and either not re-invested or, in many cases used by foreign owners to help keep utility bills lower in their own country. We are effectively subsidising foreign consumers.

Exactly this. EDF which (I think is 40% owned by the French government) tried to impose a +14% price increase in France at the beginning of the energy crisis. The government said no. They agreed on a +4% increase. Guess who got the +14% increase? Yep, us. The UK.

I also would have no problem nationalising the trains (which can't get any worse) and possibly the banks.
I guess, this is my youthful, ideal inner Labour side coming out. But as said previously, I wouldn't trust any government not to make a complete hash of it. Or we do what the French do: The government has a major stake. It has a degree of influence and control, and the profits made on the government stake are ploughed back into the NHS, schools, transport, etc. It could work.

 

[west didsblue]

Exactly this. EDF which (I think is 40% owned by the French government) tried to impose a +14% price increase in France at the beginning of the energy crisis. The government said no. They agreed on a +4% increase. Guess who got the +14% increase? Yep, us. The UK.

I also would have no problem nationalising the trains (which can't get any worse) and possibly the banks.
I guess, this is my youthful, ideal inner Labour side coming out. But as said previously, I wouldn't trust any government not to make a complete hash of it. Or we do what the French do: The government has a major stake. It has a degree of influence and control, and the profits made on the government stake are ploughed back into the NHS, schools, transport, etc. It could work.

Has someone hacked your account?

 

[PPT]

Has someone hacked your account?

I was a big Labour man and staunch union member back in the day. My brother was a shop steward and my father was a big union man, who worked with senior members of the TUC back in his day. Then I saw the error of my ways and voted for Thatcher. To say it caused a family argument would be a major understatement.
No system is perfect, but for me, capitalism is the lesser of the two evils (just).

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

Has someone hacked your account?

Looking at the blacked out username, I think that most likely.