Red Ed's Speech and Vision

[OldBlueLady]

Take a closer look at the opinion polls.

Labour have been consistently leading the Tories by 6% for some time now (that lead is even higher in many of the key marginals).

Labour will win with a small absolute majority in May 2015.

Opinion polls almost always show the opposition party leading, I'll go by the results when they happen, and I very much doubt that they will result in Ed Milibland being our next PM.

 

[Neil_F]

Labour will win with a small absolute majority in May 2015.

It amazes me that so many of you have such powers of foresight. I'm not clever enough to tell you what will happen tomorrow let alone how 30 million people will vote in 20 months time. Opinion polls now mean nothing.

As to the issue, I would be very surprised if this ever happens. Price controls didn't work in this country in the 70s, they didn't work throughout the history of the Soviet Union and they are not working in Venezuela now. On the same day, in fact, there was an interesting story of paper shortages in Venezuela. The government has fixed the price at less than the market rate so suppliers are not selling. Why would anyone deliberately sell at a loss?

Miiband is proposing a temporary price freeze. I think the talk of blackouts is an exaggeration (unlike paper, electricity is difficult to stockpile in significant quantities over long periods of time). The incentives are very simple and have already been pointed out on this thread. All energy companies have a strong incentive to raise prices significantly in spring 2015. If Labour win and freeze prices (legally dubious as it is) then the price is frozen at a level above what it would have been. If the new government pick a price then they are on even shakier legal ground and it would be unenforceable during appeal.

in short, energy companies will just bring forward price rises so they don't lose out and consumers gain nothing. Temporary price fixing won't work for the same reasons temporary tax rises don't work either.

There is a second, and in my opinion more interesting, angle here: energy prices are designed to be high in order to promote investment in renewable technologies. This is based on an assumption that, in particular, gas prices remain above a certain level. That price level is artificially achieved in part through a series of green taxes, levies and subsidies that act to push up consumer prices. These were introduced by one E Miliband with the objective of promoting investment in renewables since the long term fossil fuel prices would only go up. If Miliband is freezing prices then he is effectively abandoning that green agenda. All well and good some may argue, but if he wanted to reduce consumer prices and abandon the green agenda he could promise to scrap the taxes, levies and subsidies. Instead he promised to dofreeze prices and de-carbonise the economy but that is just not possible.

it is for this reason that the Lib Dems are against fracking. - it would reduce domestic gas prices, which then acts as a disincentive to invest in renewables. Ed Davey admitted as much in his conference speech. He even said that it was contrary to their ideology to reduce gas prices.

There was also a section in Miliband's speech about land confiscation, which was straight out of the Mugabe/Stalin school of urban planning. I don't have time for that now though.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

There was also a section in Miliband's speech about land confiscation, which was straight out of the Mugabe/Stalin school of urban planning. I don't have time for that now though.

You have heard of CPO's, I suppose?

 

[Neil_F]

You have heard of CPO's, I suppose?

I have. Rather crucially the P stands for "purchase". Miliband was talking about confiscation. Those are two very different things.

 

[mrsblue]

How many of you would buy a secondhand car from Ed or his sidekick Ed?.Come to think of it I don't trust none of them.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

How many of you would buy a secondhand car from Ed or his sidekick Ed?.Come to think of it I don't trust none of them.

That goes double for Boy George Osborne or Call Me Dave Cameron.

 

[londonblue]

I mean staff at the school where I work, in particular LSAs who used to do exactly this. When the new senior management team was appointed, it was made very clear to us that on no account were we to continue with this practice and the allergy thing was part of the reasoning.

OK, so it was just your school. I would imagine she's ensuring she complies with her school's policy.

And as to the rest of that, did you experience the black outs of the 70s?

No, but what has that got to do with aeroplanes? As I said, your comment on aeroplanes proves to me your post was meant to scaremonger and has no real substance behind it.

 

[MK Shrimper]

No, but what has that got to do with aeroplanes? As I said, your comment on aeroplanes proves to me your post was meant to scaremonger and has no real substance behind it.

So do they do it with wooden blocks or did I dream it?

 

[londonblue]

I have. Rather crucially the P stands for "purchase". Miliband was talking about confiscation. Those are two very different things.

If we had a bit more confiscation and a bit less purchase maybe Fossetts Farm would be done and dusted by now...

:winking:

 

[londonblue]

How many of you would buy a secondhand car from Ed or his sidekick Ed?.Come to think of it I don't trust none of them.

Who wants to explain double negatives?

 

[MK Shrimper]

Who wants to explain double negatives?

No I don't want to. :raspberry:

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

No I don't want to. :raspberry:

David Marsh is your friend.:winking:

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/sep/30/10-grammar-rules-you-can-forget

(See rule 4).

 

[applelover]

Neil 'doesn't know the price of milk' F needs to look at the polling in the marginals. The way things are working out are massively in Labour's favour at present.

Cameron needs to deliver a belter this week (which he is capable of) to close the gap. Its looking like Labour can get an overall majority with 35% whereas the Tories need 38%. Liberal seats are holding up when they are against the Conservatives but are at great risk when they are against the Lib Dems. UKIP will also play a role.

I'm afraid that 'Tory boy' superblue may find himself crying into his copy of the Daily Mail.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

No-one seems to have answered my question about why Miliband is proposing to drive up the cost of energy before the election, and how this will help the poor and needy?

 

[superblue24]

Neil 'doesn't know the price of milk' F needs to look at the polling in the marginals. The way things are working out are massively in Labour's favour at present.

Cameron needs to deliver a belter this week (which he is capable of) to close the gap. Its looking like Labour can get an overall majority with 35% whereas the Tories need 38%. Liberal seats are holding up when they are against the Conservatives but are at great risk when they are against the Lib Dems. UKIP will also play a role.

I'm afraid that 'Tory boy' superblue may find himself crying into his copy of the Daily Mail.

My dear applecatcher.....You are rather misguided if you believe that Labour winning will cause me any further displeasure than the tenner I'll have to pay the ST as part of a bet I have with Barna.

Au Contraire. Part of me will enjoy watching the country slip into the mire under Millibland and his clueless cronies for three reasons. a) I'm a vindictive ******* who would enjoy being able to say "I told you so" to all his loyal subjects, b) I have a "recession-proof" job and c) I would actually end up personally better off under a Labour government.

Unlike some voters, I vote for the good of the country rather than the extra "pocket money" I'll gain from the Labour government in power.

My political alignment is actually with UKIP rather than the Tories, but we all know they'd never get into power, so I vote Tory "by default".....Oh, and I've never picked up a copy of the Daily Mail (unless I've been stuck in a waiting room or greasy spoon with no other option)....You never have been a good judgement of character, so I can't say that I'm surprised by your worship of Red Ed.

 

[applelover]

My dear applecatcher.....You are rather misguided if you believe that Labour winning will cause me any further displeasure than the tenner I'll have to pay the ST as part of a bet I have with Barna.

Au Contraire. Part of me will enjoy watching the country slip into the mire under Millibland and his clueless cronies for three reasons. a) I'm a vindictive ******* who would enjoy being able to say "I told you so" to all his loyal subjects, b) I have a "recession-proof" job and c) I would actually end up personally better off under a Labour government.

Unlike some voters, I vote for the good of the country rather than the extra "pocket money" I'll gain from the Labour government in power.

My political alignment is actually with UKIP rather than the Tories, but we all know they'd never get into power, so I vote Tory "by default".....Oh, and I've never picked up a copy of the Daily Mail (unless I've been stuck in a waiting room or greasy spoon with no other option)....You never have been a good judgement of character, so I can't say that I'm surprised by your worship of Red Ed.

I've not posted for a while on here and can sincerely say that i've missed you :)

Is that lunatic Rusty still around?

 

[superblue24]

I've not posted for a while on here and can sincerely say that i've missed you :)

Is that lunatic Rusty still around?

Your posts make me all warm and fuzzy inside, so the feeling is most definitely mutual. ;)

 

[Neil_F]

Neil 'doesn't know the price of milk' F needs to look at the polling in the marginals. The way things are working out are massively in Labour's favour at present.

I don't know the price unless you specify the units, no. Polling nationally or in constituencies is meaningless at this stage in the electoral cycle. You are attaching importance to something that has very little.

Cameron needs to deliver a belter this week (which he is capable of) to close the gap. Its looking like Labour can get an overall majority with 35% whereas the Tories need 38%. Liberal seats are holding up when they are against the Conservatives but are at great risk when they are against the Lib Dems. UKIP will also play

The Tories need more than 38% for a majority. The electoral dynamics are strongly in Labour's favour and I suspect that Labour as the largest party is the most likely outcome. My point is that a lot can happen in the next 20 months so it is pointless to read too much in to current events, especially a speech that no one will remember in two months time.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

No-one seems to have answered my question about why Miliband is proposing to drive up the cost of energy before the election, and how this will help the poor and needy?

Perhaps because it's so obviously a "nasty party" scare non-story.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

I have. Rather crucially the P stands for "purchase". Miliband was talking about confiscation. Those are two very different things.

Interestingly,according to a local Government spokesman I saw on the Daily Politics last week, (who quoted some research figures), very little land owned by local councils, which have been granted planning permission,is not currently being developed.
That of course begs the question of land held by private propery developers, who are presumably waiting for property prices to rise sky high after the Governments 95% mortgage measures come into operation.
The problem, as always, is the limited supply of housing in the UK.