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UK energy bills could rise under government plans to fund nuclear

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https://www.politico.eu/article/energy-bills-rise-under-uk-government-plans-fund-nuclear/

A final investment for the plants is planned before the next election | Carl Court/Getty Images

LONDON — The U.K. government is mulling plans which would hike household energy bills to help pay for a new nuclear energy plant.

Ministers are considering tweaking the funding deal for Sizewell C, a proposed £20 billion nuclear plant in Suffolk, as they scramble to attract investors.

Under one proposal being looked at in Whitehall, the development would be part funded by electricity suppliers — and those firms “would be expected to pass these costs onto consumers through their electricity bills,” according to a consultation paper on the plans.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is set to publish its response to that consultation later this week, according to two industry figures granted anonymity to discuss the process.

Officials insist potential additional charges to consumers would be low. But any move leading to higher bills would be controversial during a cost-of-living crisis driven by two years of rising energy costs.

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https://www.politico.eu/article/energy-bills-rise-under-uk-government-plans-fund-nuclear/

Continue ReadingUK energy bills could rise under government plans to fund nuclear

Green protesters to be charged with criminal damage over demonstration at Rishi Sunak’s home

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https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/climate-activists-rishi-sunak-damage-home-b2499247.html

Three people are set to be charged over a protest at Rishi Sunak’s home (Danny Lawson/PA Wire)

Three people will be charged with criminal damage following a Greenpeace protest at Rishi Sunak’s home in North Yorkshire, prosecutors have said.

Mathieu Soete, 38, Amy Rugg-Easey, 33, and Alexandra Wilson, 32, will each be charged with one count of criminal damage over the protest last August in the prime minister’s Richmond constituency, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

Mr Soete, of Hackney, and Ms Rugg-Easey and Ms Wilson, both from Shiremoor in North Tyneside, are due to appear at York Magistrates’ Court on 21 March, according to the CPS.

A fourth suspect is due to answer bail at a later date.

Activists were pictured last year atop the roof of Mr Sunak’s grade II-listed manor house in Kirby Sigston, near Northallerton, which they draped with oil-black fabric in protest over what they called a new fossil fuel drilling “frenzy”.

The prime minister was on holiday in California at the time of the demonstration.

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https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/climate-activists-rishi-sunak-damage-home-b2499247.html

Continue ReadingGreen protesters to be charged with criminal damage over demonstration at Rishi Sunak’s home

Embarrassment for GB News after their own poll shows 90% of voters choose to ‘rejoin the EU’

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/02/embarrassment-for-gb-news-after-their-own-poll-shows-90-of-voters-choose-to-rejoin-the-eu/

GB News won’t be happy…

GB News was left embarrassed after the right-wing channel’s own poll showed that an overwhelming majority of respondents want to rejoin the EU, not a result that the channel would’ve been happy with.

Over the weekend, eight years after Britain left the EU, GB News decided to carry out a poll to gauge public opinion on Brexit. They would’ve done well to remember that a number of polls over recent months have shown that a majority favour rejoining the EU, with the demand to reverse Brexit reaching is highest ever level in one poll.

However, GB News decided to put their poll behind a paywall, meaning that only paying readers could participate. Author Edwin Hayward then decided to tweet a link to the poll which bypassed the paywall, allowing others to join in on the voting.

With a wider sample now participating in the poll, the overwhelming majority of votes went to rejoin, with over 90% of voting to rejoin the EU.

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/02/embarrassment-for-gb-news-after-their-own-poll-shows-90-of-voters-choose-to-rejoin-the-eu/

Continue ReadingEmbarrassment for GB News after their own poll shows 90% of voters choose to ‘rejoin the EU’

UK economy suffering ‘long-term’ economic cost of Brexit, Goldman Sachs group says

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/02/uk-economy-suffering-long-term-economic-cost-of-brexit-goldman-sachs-group-says/

“The evidence points to a significant long-run output cost of Brexit,” the economists at Goldman’s wrote.

Yet more evidence has emerged of just how disastrous the decision to leave the EU has been for the UK economy, with economists at Goldman Sachs group saying that real GDP has underperformed by about 5%.

In a research note published earlier this month, Sven Jari Stehn and colleagues said that Brexit had resulted in reduced growth and higher inflation, with ‘reduced international trade, weak business investment and a drop in migrants coming from Britain’s largest trade partner all contributing’, Bloomberg has reported.

It comes as a number of studies have warned of the harmful consequences of Brexit, with the Bank of England saying last year that the decision to leave the EU has cost the average UK household £1,000, due to a lack of investment following the referendum.

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/02/uk-economy-suffering-long-term-economic-cost-of-brexit-goldman-sachs-group-says/

Continue ReadingUK economy suffering ‘long-term’ economic cost of Brexit, Goldman Sachs group says

Liz Truss brutally mocked after claiming that the system is ‘rigged against Conservative policies’

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/02/liz-truss-brutally-mocked-after-claiming-that-the-system-is-rigged-against-conservative-policies/

“Imagine, for example, trying to become prime minister while espousing my ideas!”

Former Prime Minister Liz Truss wants us to believe that the ‘system is rigged against Conservative policies’ despite the fact that the Tories have been in power for the last 14 years!

Truss, whose premiership ended in disaster, and who was booted out of office after just 49 days, making her Britain’s shortest ever serving Prime Minister, is currently trying to relaunch her political career with the setting up of her Popular Conservatism group, also known as PopCon.

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On Monday, in a bid to rally support for her new group, Truss posted on X: “When the system is rigged against conservative policies, we need to change the system itself.”

She was brutally mocked for her post, with one social media user writing: “Liz is right. We had an 80 seat majority, stuffed the House of Lords with Tories, installed our mates at the BBC, Ofcom,  Ofgem etc and of course have most of the papers in our pockets, but somehow the system is stacked against us.”

David Aaronovitch wrote in response: “Imagine, for example, trying to become prime minister while espousing my ideas! The system would never allow it!  It’s rigged, I tell you, rigged!”

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/02/liz-truss-brutally-mocked-after-claiming-that-the-system-is-rigged-against-conservative-policies/

Continue ReadingLiz Truss brutally mocked after claiming that the system is ‘rigged against Conservative policies’