A few features of the #energy market that Gordon Brown (and his many fans here) don't seem to understand... π
1. Energy suppliers are not the ones making big profits. None of his ideas - including #nationalisation - would reduce the prices they have to pay in global markets.
1. Energy suppliers are not the ones making big profits. None of his ideas - including #nationalisation - would reduce the prices they have to pay in global markets.
2. The Ofgem price cap is already based on an assessment of the βactual costsβ of supplying energy, including a small profit margin. As such, the cap already forces suppliers to βkeep prices downβ...
3. North Sea oil and gas profits are already taxed at a headline rate of 65%. Raising this even further - in an ad hoc way, and retrospectively - would send a terrible signal to all businesses thinking of investing in the UK.
4. If Brown is really talking about nationalising BP, or Shell, then at what price, and where would the money come from? Or is he just proposing to trample over the property rights of those who currently own these businesses?
ps. of course, I get that many households are already struggling and the pressure will only increase.
Nonetheless, the sensible way to deal with this is by topping up incomes with targeted support, and tax cuts, rather than even clumsier interventions to fix prices for everyone.
Nonetheless, the sensible way to deal with this is by topping up incomes with targeted support, and tax cuts, rather than even clumsier interventions to fix prices for everyone.
β’ β’ β’
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