Readers' letters: Public opinion is changing on energy

Is public opinion changing regarding our energy problem? When previous Labour Leader Ed Miliband proposed a price freeze on energy bills, he was labeled a Marxist and his proposal was met with derision by the Tory party, mainstream media and public opinion in general.

Present Labour leader Keir Starmer has proposed a similar solution to our existing problem which, apart from not being derided, has grown legs to make the Tory party think about helping people financially because voters are now talking about renationalisation.

Seeing Britain being run for communal interest would be a blow to the Tory party and its support for the energy profiteers.

France has done better than Britain on the issue by a mixture of state subsidies and public ownership.

Nicola Sturgeon has initiated talks on nationalisation but hasn't the power to bring this about. Only a Labour government could do this

I believe its time both for both Keir Starmer and Nicola Sturgeon to lay their cards on the table regarding public ownership of energy.

Jack Fraser, Musselburgh.

Join End Fuel Poverty Coalition demo

After Ofgem’s announcement of an 80 per cent rise in the price cap for domestic fuel the average household will be paying nearly £3600 for gas and electricity come October.

Thousands of people are in desperate need and fear what winter will bring in the shape of further deprivations.

The crisis has been caused by the global price of gas. Blaming the energy retailers for it is like blaming a corner shop for the rise in the price of a newspaper.

Only government can alleviate the problem. Hence, since December 2021 the Scottish Socialist Party has campaigned on Princes Street with a petition for the UK and Scottish governments to intervene on a massive scale.

The huge response we’re receiving shows that now is the time to move on to the next phase of the campaign.

To that end the SSP has joined with the RMT and other Trade Unions to form the ‘Edinburgh End Fuel Poverty Coalition’.

On Saturday October 1 at noon the coalition will hold a demonstration outside the UK Government HQ on Sibbald Walk Edinburgh.

The time has come to demand drastic action from government. Only they have the power and resources to fix the problem.

We urge all who are struggling now and worrying about what the future holds to join us and make their voices heard.

Michael Davidson, Edinburgh.

When electricity is lacking in power

The news is currently dominated by huge energy price rises. But there's one silver lining to this cloud. The UK is on track to getting most of its energy from the wind in years to come.

The UK's metered windfarms with an on-paper capacity of 19,932 MW (megawatts) were left standing on Saturday as the UK was becalmed and the electricity generated by them collapsed to a paltry 241 MW. And over the previous month similar failures had happened three times.

In the dystopian future during such energy shortages only “important” people like government departments will get electricity. But at least ordinary people will not be getting billed for electricity that's not there.

Geoff Moore, Alness, Highland.

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