Britain - The Official Thread

[Dennisch]

Are the gas reserves not sufficiently filled up in the UK?

 

[Liquid]

The UK has between 3-5 years of production in proven natural gas reserves , the 4th highest in Europe behind only Norway, Ukraine and Russia.

So where are they?

 

[Sprite]

Meanwhile, in the 'minor stories' section on today's BBC News website:

UK at significant risk of gas shortages this winter, warns energy regulator

Electricity supplies to people's houses could be disrupted if the country runs short of gas.

www.bbc.co.uk

I think the telling part is this…

Asked about the risk of blackouts this winter, Ofgem told the BBC: "This winter is likely to be more challenging than previous ones due to the Russian disruption of gas supplies to Europe."

But it said: "Britain is in a good position with little direct import of gas from Russia

I‘ve not seen anything internal at work about shortage of gas.

Personally I can see that mid next year being a problem as the EU will then have trade agreements with the big suppliers we use and theyUK and they maybe able to squeeze us a little at that point.

However that’s not to say they will share the whole picture with us. Internal news headlines are a visit from Truss and Black History Month.

 

[Sprite]

The UK has between 3-5 years of production in proven natural gas reserves , the 4th highest in Europe behind only Norway, Ukraine and Russia.

So where are they?

Last I heard, a lot of the offshore rigs are going under repair so quite a lot of the fleet is out of commission or operating at lower yields. However that was in Jan this year so who knows how far they’ve got on.

 

[Famine]

Anyone else heading out to a protest on Saturday? I've been impressed with this campaign https://wesayenough.co.uk/

The relatively free UK is apparently trying to starve, freeze, and poverty everyone to death and we'll maybe be doing some finger-wagging in the park next Saturday.

I'm predicting a little more than that, but maybe that's just hope. I'll probably accidentally leave my phone at home anyway...

Just out of interest, and as it was two Saturdays ago and doesn't seem to have gained any attention, how did this go?


Also it occurred to me that Kwasi Kwarteng's original decision to cut the enhanced tax bracket (earnings over £150,000) down from 45% to match the higher rate at 40% is actually a reversion to the state of the higher rate since 1988 - right through the Blair/Brown years.

Thatcher cut the higher rate to 40% in 1988 (having been 60% from 1979-1988, which she'd also cut from 83%), and there was no change until Brown added the 50% enhanced rate on top right at the death. That was in place for three years before being cut to 45%, which is where it's been ever since.

In fact in the final Labour year, the lower rate of 20% ran up to £37,400 (less £6,475 personal allowance), and the higher rate of 40% was income over £37,400. Kwarteng's proposed change would have the lower rate of 20% up to £37,700 (less £12,570 personal allowance) and the higher rate of 40% on income over £37,700 - broadly indistinguishable except for £6,095 more that you don't pay tax on.

That means income tax for someone earning £25,000 is £2,486 in 2022, compared to £3,705 in 2009. Haven't checked the NI rates, but that's... interesting.


Interesting note: if you earn over £100,000, you lose £1 of personal allowance per additional £2 earned. If you earn £100,000 exactly, you'll pay £29,946 in income tax. For each £2 more you earn you'll pay £1 in tax - 20p on the £1 of personal allowance lost at 20%, 80p on the £2 earned at 40% - for an effective tax rate of 50%.

 

[merseyxshore]

Just out of interest, and as it was two Saturdays ago and doesn't seem to have gained any attention, how did this go?

They were pretty huge in most cities mate, but predictably enough didn't get any media coverage. It's not even even tin-foil territory anymore to believe that the entire media is bought and paid for. Some good shots still up on the @eiecampaign instagram stories if you want to have a look. The trouble is, peaceful protest like this, even when big, is very easy to ignore. Civil disobedience is the only way to get them to listen. Perhaps not in the same way as the girl who poured human poo over a Captain Tom memorial though...

 

[Touring Mars]

 

[Keef]

Is there a drought going on in the UK? Or is this reservoir being emptied on purpose? This is a California-like rate of loss, holy cow.



Looks to be a whole bunch of reservoirs in the highlands between Manchester and Leeds. I assume flood control is the main reason? I don't see any hydro power stations on these dams but maybe I'm missing something. Looks like these small creeks could flow violently during big storms.

 

[Sprite]

Is there a drought going on in the UK? Or is this reservoir being emptied on purpose? This is a California-like rate of loss, holy cow.



Looks to be a whole bunch of reservoirs in the highlands between Manchester and Leeds. I assume flood control is the main reason? I don't see any hydro power stations on these dams but maybe I'm missing something. Looks like these small creeks could flow violently during big storms.

It’s a drought, and expected to last through winter now too.

 

[Matt777]

They’ll fill up again pretty quick with our weather

 

[Famine]

They were pretty huge in most cities mate, but predictably enough didn't get any media coverage.

There was definitely some coverage:

BBC:

Protests held over climate crisis and energy rises

The day of action across the UK sees people highlight the cost-of-living crisis and the environment.

www.bbc.co.uk

Guardian:

Britons to burn their bills in weekend wave of cost of living protests

Dozens of rallies planned from Plymouth to Aberdeen as £150bn energy price guarantee comes into effect

www.theguardian.com

Scottish Sun:

Hundreds take to the streets in Glasgow to protest against cost of living crisis

HUNDREDS of people marched through Glasgow to protest against the cost of living crisis. Crowds marched up the city’s Buchanan Street this morning, waving banners and chanting slogans. The cr…

www.thescottishsun.co.uk

ITV:

'Enough is enough': Hundreds march through city in solidarity with strikers | ITV News

Protesters fighting the cost of living crisis joined rail and postal workers out on strike. | ITV News Anglia

www.itv.com

I'm not seeing "pretty huge" though. Local news seems divided on numbers. Scottish Sun above says hundreds in Glasgow. Looks about right to me - might be edging into four figures.

MEN (Manchester) says "hundreds" in the URL, suggesting the "thousands" in the headline was a change after publishing; the picture doesn't bear out the "5,000" quoted in the article.

Thousands turn out for Enough is Enough protest in city centre

Pictures showed scores of people taking to the city centre as part of the campaign's day of national action

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Especially when you consider only "4,000" in London, at King's Cross, according to Socialist Worker:

Enough is Enough rallies see thousands on the streets

Support for strikes and lots of discussion about the next steps

socialistworker.co.uk

And the "2,000" in Bristol (where? There's maybe 800 in any one shot in this article):

Anger over energy bills as 2,000 march in Bristol

It is believed to be one of the biggest series of demonstrations the UK has seen for years

www.bristolpost.co.uk

Liverpool Echo (Echo, echo, echo, echo, echo, echo, echo) also reckons "hundreds", and quotes a "crowd of 1,000" in the article (which looks like a 20% overcount by the image):

Hundreds take to city streets to say 'enough is enough'

The rally was part of a nationwide day of action and is the second 'Enough is Enough' protest in Liverpool

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

YEP doesn't quote a number in Leeds - I've only found one photo and it looks like a couple of hundred tops - but says "thousands" across the UK:

Jeremy Corbyn among thousands taking to the streets forEnough is Enough rallies

Enough is Enough: Thousands take to streets across UK to protest soaring cost of living

www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk

Southampton managed a crowd of 100, apparently:

More than 100 protesters say 'enough is enough' as energy bills rise yet again

More than 100 people crowded into Guildhall Square today to demand change from the government.

www.dailyecho.co.uk

Maybe the protest in Portsmouth diluted it, which was quoted as hundreds again, despite a very similar-looking turnout:

'I'm scared about the future': Hundreds of protestors gather in Portsmouth for 'Enough is Enough' rally

PROTESTORS gather in their hundreds to ‘fight back’ against the cost of living crisis as some say they are ‘scared’ what the future will bring.

www.portsmouth.co.uk

Of course EIE says "100,000", but unless an average of 10k+ turned out at each of the other protests, that looks like a stretch.


(weird they're claiming the proposed reversion to 2009/10 Labour tax brackets was postponed because of them too)


Again, one girl is killed in Iran - a fascist dictatorship that "disappears" (murders) dissidents - and tens of thousands gather that same night. Russia - a fascist dictatorship that "disappears" (murders) dissidents even in other countries - moves to conscript adult males and tens of thousands gather that same night.

Four million people in the UK - a democracy with fascist ideations given recent attempts to ban peaceful protest - face fuel poverty this winter, and we get protests arranged for a week and a half down the line that you could photoshop carrier bags into and pretend it's Christmas shoppers.

Compare the images above to the fraction of the estimated 750k+ that marched in London in 2003 to stop the Iraq War:

... and the Government of the day ignored them completely.

 

[Touring Mars]

Compare the images above to the fraction of the estimated 750k+ that marched in London in 2003 to stop the Iraq War:
View attachment 1197764

If you look closely enough you should see me in there... somewhere.

-

I reckon that Truss is just one more slip-up away from a vote of no confidence, and boy does she deserve it. Truss lacks support, even from within her own camp.

There needs to be a General Election.

 

[Daz555]

Are the gas reserves not sufficiently filled up in the UK?

UK gas storage stands at about 1.5bn m³ which Google searches tell me is good for less than a week in winter time. UK gas storage has gone down by about 70% in the last 10 years.

 

[UKMikey]

UK gas storage stands at about 1.5bn m³ which Google searches tell me is good for less than a week in winter time. UK gas storage has gone down by about 70% in the last 10 years.

Would that be anything to do with us formerly having access to EU gas reserves? Just wondering what the thinking was behind letting them dwindle. Perhaps we'd all become too comfortable sucking on Gazprom's teat.

 

[UKMikey]

 

[Daz555]

Would that be anything to do with us formerly having access to EU gas reserves? Just wondering what the thinking was behind letting them dwindle. Perhaps we'd all become too comfortable sucking on Gazprom's teat.

Tory policy. They announced they would no longer be funding the Rough storage facility to save £750m per year and so it shut down in 2017. Looks very shortsighted now - like most Tory policy in the last 12 years.

 

[Touring Mars]

Liz Truss is to address the Tory party conference this morning, and parts of her speech have already been briefed to the media.

Apparently her aim is to "grow the pie"... no, really, that is what she is going to say. Quite a Trumpian 3 syllable slogan, isn't it?

And presumably it's a pork pie.

 

[UKMikey]

I wonder what Jonathan Pie's going to say.

 

[HenrySwanson]

 

[dylansan]

 

[UKMikey]

 

[Sprite]

I’m not surprised by this. The most vulnerable have been left in the lurch with all sorts of things.

@Touring Mars as per my reply about about potential power cuts, we’ve now had an official briefing and it mirrors what the regulators have pushed out to the news outlets. So some credence in what was said.

Hopefully they can manage it and it doesn’t cause too many issues. I worry about the elderly who haven’t got a clue this maybe coming and I personally think something needs to be put in place to at least ensure they’re ok.

Work are pushing our guys and gals on the front line of things to make sure those vulnerable customers and ones with small children etc are on the Priority Service Register. It’s a small thing but it allows the local distributors know who is vulnerable and relies on electricity for medical reasons etc. so for those in the UK make sure you’re on your suppliers register and also that your family members are on too.

 

[Famine]

Absent sub-editor aside... no:

 

[UKMikey]

 

[Dennisch]

That's the American dream with a British accent.

 

[Liquid]

Just stop being poor.

 

[UKMikey]

His smug face irritates me. They don't care about optics any more. I hope they get a wake up call at the next general election.

 

[Famine]

 

[Liquid]

Queenie was funny and charming. Truss has all the qualities of a poker except the occasional warmth.

 

[UKMikey]

Truss has all the qualities of a poker except the occasional warmth.

And sharpness. Is it wrong to hope she and her court end up the same way as Queenie's? In a purely career related context, of course.