Today, I invite you to a squirrel watch, the squirrels being provided by our esteemed MSM. Firstly and weirdly, we have a new ‘Tory Sleaze’ scandal (no, sorry, I couldn’t be bothered …), just as we did at the tail end of the Major government, before TB got into No 10. This is what two of the broadsheets went with in their print edition’s front pages, so the BBC chose to select that as headline for their compilation (link). The rest of the papers are a ‘pick ‘n mix’ of unrelated ‘concern’, from a ‘vaccine crisis’ because the over 50s are apparently not so eager to get yet another covid booster jab to the ‘energy crisis’.
Staying with that ‘crisis’, there’s a piece by JRM in the DT where he seems to take on the greenies, or so the headline suggests: “Deluded green narratives around oil and gas must not allow us to surrender our energy security” (paywalled link). Ouch! But don’t celebrate yet. In a typical ‘give with one hand and take away with the other’, the subtitle is: “We will need to continue to import fuels from abroad but will also not rest on our laurels when it comes to homegrown renewable energy” (paywalled link). See, you deluded greenies: your sacred ‘renewables’ won’t be touched. Moreover, hidden somewhere in the middle of this piece, there’s this:
“No one credible honestly believes that we can turn off the oil and gas taps overnight, yet the Labour Party believe we should have an entirely decarbonised grid by 2030. This is not just implausible, it is a recipe for disaster. The facts are clear. The independent Climate Change Committee acknowledges that gas is essential to our transition to net zero by 2050, a target that this government has every intention of meeting.” (paywalled link)
Let’s disregard the fact that this government, together with the EU, have managed with their Sanctions to ‘turn off the oil and gas taps overnight’. Let’s instead note that ‘Net Zero’ won’t be touched by either Labour or Tories, the only difference being in the timeline. I’m sure we’re all happy now … not!
Then we have some Tory MPs wailing. Having tasted blood, ahem: success, making their PM perform an U-Turn, they are now demanding she perform another one:
“Liz Truss faces calls from Tory MPs to perform another U-turn and launch an advice campaign to help people reduce their energy costs this winter. A £15 million public information campaign approved by Jacob Rees-Mogg, the business secretary, was blocked by Downing Street as Truss felt it would be too interventionist. […] But Tory MPs and industry bosses have said there was nothing wrong in offering advice that could save money.” (link, paywalled)
Note that this ‘advice’ saga is framed as being about ‘saving people’s money’, not about ‘saving energy to prevent black-outs’. Blackouts, it seems, are now going to become a fact of life. The DM seems to have been provided with a leak and have reported the ‘expert advice’ which Truss nixed and which the Tories want to resurrect. Apparently, this amounted to such earth-shattering propositions like lowering the temperature of one’s boiler, turning off radiators in empty rooms and turning off the heating when one goes out (link).
The DM helped out a bit more by publishing the advice of an energy firm, illustrating that yes, ‘advice’ is out there, provided by ‘the industry’, without any help from the government. You can check out their advice here. It reminds me of the advice given decades ago by consumer experts, e.g. in “Which”, from using energy-saving lightbulbs – as if any old, filament bulbs were even available nowadays! – to using draught-excluders around doors.
We’re also told not to use tumble dryers but use the good old washing line in the back garden. instead. How this’ll work in the British winter only the ‘experts’ know. How drying stuff indoors on clothes horses,with the heating turned way down, is going to achieve anything except keeping the house not just cold but also damp … no, don’t ask. Anyone who has tried drying towels and bed linen on a clothes horse in an unheated house will know whereof I speak …
And so to this autumn’s first ‘weather warning’ – in The Express, as usual: next weekend, snow and ice will hit us, ahem: the Highlands (link). The DM also screeches: “SNOW is on the way as Britain faces a week of heavy rain amid flood warnings as weather experts predict cold winter” (link). They also include the interactive weather map by ‘Ventusky’ according to which neither looks likely to happen. But hey: clickbait, innit, and fear porn!
Staying with fear pron and click-bait, the DM has this wonderful headline:
“Have the Russians ALREADY planted mines on Britain’s ocean cables network? Ministers order urgent check of power and internet lines amid fears Vladimir Putin will ramp up ‘sea-bed warfare’ following last month’s Nord Stream sabotage” (link)
Note well how the narrative is being framed: Russia sabotaged their own pipelines “because: Putin!”. No evidence needed. Obviously therefore, Russia must have placed whatevah elsewhere already. Funny how our mighty submarines and frigates haven’t detected anything, especially in the North Sea – even though they allegedly patrol incessantly. Other NATO navies don’t seem to have found out anything either.
This is even more strange because there are regular reports about how this or that RN ship has ‘found’ Russian ships … However, the MoD is now ‘doing something’:
“Ministers have ordered an urgent survey of undersea power and internet cables amid fears Russia may have already targeted them with mines. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace sent warships to the North Sea this week to deter Kremlin attacks after explosions on key gas pipelines in the Baltic. Now ministers have also asked the Navy to carry out a survey of critical pipelines and cables in case Russia has already deployed remote mines.” (link)
Phew. I’m feeling safe already! It’s also nice to know that ‘ministers’ aren’t just ‘ordering’ the RN about but nicely ‘asking’ them. Worrying about ‘Russian sabotage’ means we don’t need to worry about the latest EU sanctions or about that war in the Ukraine, with or without ‘nuclear strikes’.
Meanwhile, according the Daily Star’s print font page, Brits are panic-buying candles – scroll down here, because for some reason, the DS has removed this news item from their online edition. Well, burning candles warms up a room, doesn’t it – and it looks so homely and old-fashioned.
I leave you with this link to Matts’ cartoon in the DT today, wonderfully illustrating the utter madness gripping Whitehall, politicians and MSM correspondents. I hope you enjoyed this weekend’s squirrel watch. I did …
Good that ‘over 50’s are refusing more jabs.
Sorry J.R.M., Truss is right not to spend taxpayer’s money ‘advising’ us how to save money on energy bills. After all, it’s bl**dy obvious how to do it isn’t it.
It was great fun trawling through the Squirrel monologue but crikey the ending with Matt’s cartoon brought on the ‘Parkie Like’ shakes of uncontrollable giggling. No hot drinks spilled, thank goodness, but must get the stain devil out to clear the red stain from Maude’s best carpet!
Cheers, as they say!
““Deluded green narratives around oil and gas must not allow us to surrender our energy security” J R Mogg
Haven’t the Tories strained every sinew over the last 12 years surrendering our cheap and plentiful energy security?
Mogg speaks with forked tongue. This “champion” of civil liberties and opponent of the vassal state doesn’t practice what he preaches, does he. However, abysmal as the Tories are, (and I could never vote for them) , the prospect of a Blair- controlled Starmer government next time round makes me feel really, physically, ill.
Pleased to see Richard Braine is back, this time with Heritage Party.
Mary. If the Tories were re-elected they would deliver Blair’s agenda anyway. After all, isn’t that what they have been delivering for the last 12 years.
What Liz could have done , and could still do. ::Choose one small industry as an experiment, and reduce its tax burden for a period to see how quickly and how effectively the benefifts could result. The interesting one could be Fracking. Can you imagine the uproar, panic, fighting, placards, the screeching, ‘The superglue boom ‘. revolution. Great.
t g s at 9.07am. I think Truss has already moved to encourage fracking, as she should. But imagine the uproar if she also reduced the tax burden!
Actually, one advantage of fracking in UK is that the tax goes into our coffers.
Anytime now the media will start a campaign to keep British Daylight Saving time as the next measure to flatten the curve and save lives. Apparently more than usual old people died from heat related ‘issues’ this year so any time now we shall see a photograph in the press featuring some unfortunate octogenarian looking glum and freezing in their unheated two room home somewhere having been ignored by family , neighbours and social services. As we know this is of course all the fault of Russia who it now seems controls O.P.E.C . If we do get a cold hard winter this year with all these people burning candles and logs in modern homes ( which for some reason they can all afford despite rising prices ) so we can at least look forward to the media reporting on worrying increases of respiratory problems for many people particularly if we get some smog following still cold weather as often happens in winter and the Fire services reporting a huge increase in call outs to domestic incidents. Batten down the hatches it’s going to be a long wet cold winter. Better keep all those old newspapers they can at least be used to kindle the fire it’s about all they are useful for.
Oh good NORMAN. I wont have to climb on a chair to fall back, changing the kitchen clock.
Since electricity and gas industries were privatised, any spare capacity has been run down along with anything else to save money and increase profits. Any glitches or breakdowns can now result a shortfall. Here’s a typical example:-
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-28/centrica-says-uk-rough-gas-storage-could-be-ready-for-winter-l64sts8t
You didn’t give us a trigger warning before using the vile word ‘profits’: How dare you(!), as I think someone once said.
Not long ago you claimed the shortfall was Pootin’s fault, now it is privatisation and capitalists. Me, I think it is the wind’s fault for not blowing enough, or too hard, so the bat-choppers, that replace sensible stable energy, don’t work. And then there is the damn sun, it will keep going down overnight.
The winds fault Phil?
That is still pootin’s fault – it blew from the east for many months at pootin’s orders!
Harold. Your comment is almost Britain-wide. All industry in our country has been targeted in exactly that corrupt practice, called since 1950 and called ” ASSET STRIPPING “,This has been a primary occupation for decades of our young wealthy, Banking and, low-level-political corruption, hollowing out our countries wealth, for a whole century