Energy

The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing warfare initiated and continued under Vladimir Putin, are appalling. Hopefully, the international war crimes commission will catch up with him and others responsible, in the years ahead.

However there is one good  outcome, which presumably was not intended, namely the need for  many countries particularly in Europe, to develop ways to provide electrical power for their peoples and industries   that do not depend on Russian oil and gas.

Meanwhile in the UK at least, the population and industry have to cope with dreadful  fuel cost increases. The domestic gas and electricity market is regulated but the regulations could not prevent the price cap rising to over £3,500 pa from October 2022.

The BBC and newspapers are awash with complaints about the UK government not speedily providing more assistance with these gas and electricity costs, for the hard up. In fact immediate assistance could carry a greater risk of being poorly thought out than assistance being provided after the Tories have spent time voting for a new leader although that is more by luck than judgment. 

I assume that behind the PM voting scenes, some are working on how best to provide further assistance  in time for the first new  power supply bills after the country has a new leader. 

Freezing bills as  some countries are doing, either postpones the pain or increases national debt perhaps hugely, so if that route is to be followed,  time to think through the pros and cons seems essential.

The media reports that some suggest an increase in income tax to assist in fuel payments payments to all. Apart from the paucity in numbers paying much income tax anyway, an increase could render working for a living, less attractive to many. Already  doctors are complaining about the huge increases in tax caused by their pension pots being limited to is it £1m and are taking early retirement as a result. 

Whether the doctors' complaints are justified given that £1m should provide a fair pension, I do not know but the government is promising to change that rule in any event. If so, helping other workers with their tax burdens seems as equitable if not more so.

Thus  of more interest in the Tories leadership electioneering, is the promise by one of the two remaining candidates, to reduce income tax immediately. 

Traditionalists complain that reducing income taxes cannot currently be afforded. However, given that there are a large number of job vacancies at present, which are apparently not being filled easily, letting those who take up jobs and work, keep more of what they earn, logically at least, should lead to fewer vacancies and thus payment of less universal benefit  perhaps for the greater good. 

Clearly, the government will  still need  to protect those people who very much need universal benefits, as such people are for one reason or another, unable to work.

We can but wait and see.