Former MP for Worcester and Int Development Minister. CEO of not-for-profit working on energy policy.
Joined July 2009
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Doing the Victorian approach to keeping a cold frame warm in the winter. Composting wood chips, with air vents to the plants.
Towards the end of the 2026 harvest. It’s been a tough year with the lack of rain. Still, we can preserve a taste of the summer.
Nothing to do with them being the biggest beneficiary of the subsidies! Believe that and you will believe anything. And yes, UK’s largest electricity supplier, so why get people to increase the amount of electricity they consume? All too obvious. #FollowTheMoney
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“Guardians of the countryside” apparently. 😀 Time to bring an end to this, once and for all.
Just to clarify, unlike a tax on profits, a penalty or fine levied on business does become an additional cost, that is then added to the price a consumer pays. Do you agree @JeevunSandher ?
Nope, that’s not how taxes and price works. The price is determined by demand and supply.
Companies charge the highest price they can given demand. A tax levied on *profits* does not affect a company’s cost ie supply.
Taxes on *windfall* profits (like oil and gas) are the most efficient kind of tax there is.
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
Corporate profit taxes do not directly shift marginal costs but empirical studies show partial pass-through into higher consumer prices. Windfall taxes on oil and gas have deterred investment and production in practice despite theoretical efficiency on rents.
dadun.unav.edu/server/api/cor…
ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/scpwps…
taxfoundation.org/blog/big-oil-p…
scottishfinancialreview.com/2025/09/03/win…
When will someone ask why the UK’s largest electricity supplier wants to convert all UK homes from gas to electric. Does it really need to be spelt out?
Tesla vs milk float. That’s how far heat pumps have come.
On @TimesRadio this morning, our CEO @g__j took on one of the most common heat pump myths: that they only work in very specific types of (new) homes.
But here’s where things stand now:
→ Heat pumps can heat as hot as a gas boiler
→ With the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, a like-for-like replacement is cheaper to fit than a gas boiler in 59% of cases
→ They typically save 25-40% on heating bills
Thousands of installers have been trained in recent years, and British manufacturers, including us, are building heat pumps designed for British homes.
We’ve seen this play out before. China backed electric vehicles early, went all in on manufacturing and skills, and now leads the world in making them.
Heat pumps are the UK’s chance to do the same. Build the industry here, and the jobs, skills and exports follow.
And a lifetime of 15 years makes the numbers less than attractive. Servicing costs double that of a gas boiler too. All adds up. The offer needs to be better such as a heat pump add-on or hybrid.
When the boss picks the union it should ring an alarm bell.
Octopus picked a union. Its workers picked GMB.
Recognition isn't something a boss hands to whichever union it prefers.
It's won by the people doing the work. Our members.
We're not going anywhere. 🐙✊
#MembersFirst
Michael Foster retweeted
Exactly, the Climate Change Committee estimates that the UK will still rely on oil and gas for 20% of its energy needs in 2050.
There is no contradiction in supporting domestic production for this purpose and also championing renewables investment.
True progressives can handle trade-offs of this kind, populists cannot. arguably.uk/p/is-net-zero-st…
Trumpflation?
CPI at highest annual rate since October 2025.
The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 3.5% in the 12 months to September 2026, up from 3.1% the previous month.
Read more➡️ ons.gov.uk/economy/inflation…
ALT Rotated bar chart showing transport, particularly motor fuels, made the largest upward contribution to the change in CPI annual inflation.
Given the evening rush hour congestion, scrapping the bus-only restrictions along Lowesmoor would ease traffic flows and improve air quality in the city centre. Easy to do, if the willingness is there.
Green councillor Matt Jenkins said it had been a "mistake" for Worcester to have scrapped the service back in 2014, and believed it could help ease congestion. Read more: bbc.in/4idRta2
@tomedwardsbbchw check out traffic from St George’s RC church along the City Walls Rd most evenings to see the real problem with bus lanes.
Well done @WorcesterNews for publishing this. Shame on Worcester Greens who declined to speak about it - won’t defend decision, won’t support it. Utterly cowardly. worcesternews.co.uk/news/266…
Is @worcesternews interested in local Green Party response to Zionism conference decision?
And still nothing from Worcester Greens. Embarrassed yes, embarrassing definitely.
NEW: The Greens are facing international ostracism after adopting a policy declaring zionism as a form of racism, which has drawn dismay from group representing European Greens.
Separately, the co-leader of the German Greens said the policy was “intolerable and unacceptable”, running contrary to its belief in the right of Israel to exist.
@alethaadu & co report
theguardian.com/politics/202…
Michael Foster retweeted
BREAKING: Bridget Phillipson responds on behalf of Labour to the racist and antisemitic motion today. It’s strong and she doesn’t mince her words to be fair.
Bridget Phillipson MP, Chair of the Labour Party, and Minister for Women and Equalities, responds to the Green Party’s vote on Zionism at the Green Party Conference, said:
“It is shameful to vote against a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine and to condemn the vast majority of British Jews and Jews around the world as racist for supporting Israel’s right to exist. It is fundamentally wrong and the leadership of the Green Party must make clear that this will not be their position moving forwards.
“The Labour Party has always been clear that criticism of the policies of the Israeli Government is not antisemitic, and the Labour government has condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank. But today’s vote at the Green Party Conference crosses a line and should be condemned across the political spectrum.
“This vote underlines how important it was that we changed the Labour Party from top to bottom and ripped out the scourge of antisemitism from within the party.
"The Labour Party and the Labour Government will continue working every day to ensure our Jewish communities are safe, feel safe and have their rights upheld, as well as making sure we rid our society of antisemitism once and for all.”
