Froze my prices for both gas and electricity with British Gas up to March 2010. So in keeping with the I'm All Right Jack mentality of The British People, I'm All Right Jack. Still wonder why those that could have done the same didn't, if you could have you should have and I have no time for your moaning and whinging. If you couldn't have, well I'm sorry but you should have tried harder when you were at school, perhaps got the odd qualification which in turn would have led to a nice job, then a few bob extra to keep warm would have been no problem. However blaming Gordon for your lack of foresight seems to be the way to go of late with most people.

UK Coal are re-opening at least one pit mothballed by Tarzan a decade ago. But what is needed is a fund to finance co-operatives, mutuals and community companies to re-open similar pits- a Coal Enterprise Board?

Why do I think that this will be on Salmond's agenda long before it is on ours?

Short Termism? It was all two and three decades ago! What's your definition of long term then?

It's about time we weaned ourselves off oil, and fuel in general. The days of reliance on dodgy foreign regimes and pollution for energy are coming to an end, and I for one will not be mourning their end.

People are turning to renewable energy because it enables them to be self-reliant and save money.

Rushing to sell all that North Sea oil at eight dollars a barrel to finance Mrs Thatcher's “economic miracle” (you remember, that was the one that kept 3m people on the dole) looks even less clever now than it did then...

Without a hint of apology Nadine Dorries wrote in May:
'When we closed down our mines, forever, Germany kept theirs ticking over, so that if necessary they could be "re-booted" in the future. Which they have been. Makes sense as...'
http://blog.dorries.org/Blog.aspx?Y=2008&M=May&d=29#29

Bob, Mike is right, it's not the energy company's fault, it's our own. All they're trying to do is eke out a living. Have you seen their profits, I'm surprised anyone can take home a wage! If only all those pensioners who will soon be freezing in their houses had listened to the voice of reason, Mike, and worked harder at school. Bleeding the consumer dry is totally acceptable, especially when you are only pulling in 13.9 billion euros before tax. And look, it's a free market,if you think prices are too high you can always set up your own energy distribution company and supply us.

Tim W, I can barely believe you wrote that. Thatcher took on the miners in 1984-5 to prepare the Tories for a programme of massive pit closures. Heseltine announced the death of the British coal mining industry in the Autumn of 1992. Looking less than 15 years ahead in terms of where you are going to get your future energy supplies appears a tad short term to me.

Stephen Newton, and even more recently,
ConservativeHome - July 22, 2008
"Coal power, clean or not, is now essential"

Did anyone see Obama meeting the "white mandela" today. The PM has made the UK one of the biggest donors of aid to Africa, on the planet. He is seen as a white Mandela. A great man of great mental strength and high intelligence. No wonder the tories and their slave trading instincts hate him.
That is my new slogan for the PM "The white mandela2.

I am a pensioner Barry Day, and I won't freeze because unlike those old folk who are wheeled out for the telly every time a price increase is announced I ain't stupid. So don't come the pensioners bit, lets face it we old folk are a bloody pain at the best of times, and when someone feels sorry for us we put on an act you wouldn't believe, I'm 66 you know ? That's when you say well you don't look it, and that's when we bore you rigid with our life story. Those pensioners who didn't plan ahead will be culled by a cold winter, it's what nature intended and keeps the remaining stock healthy and wise.

Bob, how can you be so naive? It wasn't anything to do with economics when the Tories closed the pits in the 80's and 90's.

It had everything to do with securing the long term future energy security of the country so that we couldn't be held to ransom by a bunch of militant trades unionist types with dodgy northern accents.

The switch to gas ensured the long term energy security of Britain meaning that never again could the country be held to ransom by forces outside of its control. Oh, hang on.....

The government has done some good work with the Warm Front Scheme, insulating the homes of vulnerable people and with the winter fuel allowances.

The Tories have a similar insulations scheme and they will bring back its architect Edwina Currie...

hats and long-johns for old people!

Mike

Just before you congratulate yourself too much.

I joined Staywarm 10 years ago when my gas and electricity bills were just over £1000 per year.

The first year it was £500 - it has taken 10 years to reach £1100 per year.

This does not make me clever or enable me to feel smug. Instead I did my best to ensure all the pensioners I knew joined as well. Unison ran a great campaign for their retired members.

However, the other rises in Council Tax, et al have in now way helped as neither my state pension or works pension has kept pace.

What do you suggest I do - go back to school?

Britain can either be held to ransom by high oil prices or held to ransom by militant coal miners as in 1984. Some choice!

Bob, I assume you are overlooking all the diseases and dangers that coal miners faced in their working lives!

Snafu, not at all. Being a trawlerman is a very dangerous job too. Perhaps we should close down the industry and import our fish.

But of course, that is just a smokescreen because we know the tories loath health and safety legislation and couldn't give a toss about the health of workers... as long as they carry on grinding out the lovely lolly.

What was the ransom the miners were holding the country to in 1984, by the way? They argued, quite rightly too, that we had the best part of a 1,000 years deep mine coal in the ground and that closing the pits was madness... so... who was right?