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The real enemy within

Dirty Money Filthy Rich, Lazarides Gallery LondonBold and radical, Ed Miliband announced his plan to tackle vested interests within the energy market, a promise to fight for ordinary people who for years have complained about the rising cost of gas and electricity. On the same day as Ed Miliband was standing up against the Big Six energy companies, David Cameron and George Osborne were taking the EU to court to stop them capping bankers bonuses.

While thousands of people across the country are seeing their bills rise, wages frozen, and pensions attacked, George Osborne is only willing to go the distance, spending £1 million of taxpayers’ money, to protect multi-million pound payouts for bankers and his friends in the city. The Chancellor promised to get tough on irresponsible pay, but has failed to deliver. In April this year, £1.3billion was paid in bonuses in the finance and insurance sector.

Like most people, I think bankers have had enough from the taxpayer. They are already enjoying a top rate tax cut, while working families have their tax credits cut. No matter how often the Tories call these bankers and city speculators “wealth creators” no one will forget their reckless speculation that took the global financial system to the brink of collapse, resulting in austerity and destitution for millions of people across Europe, while they remain unaffected.  Bankers seem to have forgotten that it required billions of pounds in taxpayer bailouts in order to avert the disaster they caused.

Many of the arguments used against regulating the banks are now being rehashed by the energy sectors, who are warning it will hit investment, competition and jobs. For them the market is working perfect, the Government Energy Minister Greg Barker even thinks energy company profits are fair. How can it be fair that since 2009 inflation has increased by 13%, while over same period profits of the Big Six Energy companies have risen by 74%, up from £2.15 billion in 2009, to £3.74 billion in 2012.

The Big Six Energy companies have threatened that if we stop the year on year price rises, they could turn the lights out. Who are they to hold our country to ransom, demanding money by menace.

When striking miners were fighting for their livelihoods and communities the Tories labelled them “the enemy within”, a line backed up by daily headlines in the Murdoch press.

No headlines this week and no moral outrage that the country is being threatened by an unelected, largely foreign owned, unaccountable cartel trying to hold UK citizens to ransom.

George Osborne might be right about one thing, they are “all in it together”. The energy companies, the banks, Murdoch media, and the Government are protecting a privileged wealthy elite and making you pay.

One Comment

  1. Robert says:

    It’s like the Bed Room tax it would be nice if we could believe that Ed believes in tackling this was the right thing, but he took so long and in the end your left with the feeling he went with it because he believed voters think it’s right.

    Why did Ed not say or do anything when he was in power as a Minister and an MP when Brown was in power.

    But when we look back at the price of Gas and electricity in the UK today, we are no longer way out in front the rest of the EU has caught up with us a couple of countries subsidies the cost, others do not.

    But I think Ed has to come clean and be a bit more up front in his decisions at the moment he just looks like a bloke who see an opportunity and takes it.

    When you remember he was part of Gordon Brown minister for energy and the people were moaning about the prize rises then and Labour came out with what sod all.

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