The grid companies in our country are mostly foreign owned and based, are absolute monopolies, regulated by government – but allowed under the Tories to make a 40% profit margin. It’s outrageous. If we apply the same profit margin rules as in energy retail – to the ‘Pylon’ companies – we can knock £6 billion off our energy bills overnight, that’s 200 quid per household… It’s not radical; it’s common sense. Maybe it’s both. 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/09/04/miliband-told-crack-down-pylon-levy-electricity-bills/

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The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “I’m delighted to accept this award in recognition of the huge progress we’ve made in cleaning up London’s toxic air with the worlds’ largest clean air zone. Air pollution is an issue of social and racial justice, prematurely taking the lives of around 4,000 Londoners each year and disproportionately affecting those in deprived communities. Expanding the ULEZ London-wide was not an easy decision, but it was the right one— and it’s working even better than expected. Everyone deserves to breathe clean air and I won’t stop taking action to continue to build a greener, fairer and safer London for everyone.”

The Rt Hon John Gummer, Lord Deben, won the Lifetime Achievement Award for his unwavering dedication to environmental causes, including more than ten years of service as Chair of the UK’s independent Climate Change Committee (CCC).

Labour MP Ruth Jones won the Animal Welfare Award for her vocal support of bans for trophy hunting imports and animal welfare legislation throughout the past year.

Green Party peer Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb won the Rivers and Seas Award for her efforts in holding the government accountable for sewage pollution. 

Labour MP Alex Sobel won the Habitats, Biodiversity and Green Spaces Award for introducing the Climate and Nature Bill, which seeks to formalise government targets on climate and nature recovery and establish an advisory Climate and Nature Assembly.

Ed Miliband won the Green Energy and Renewables Award for introducing pivotal policies in his first month as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, including creating GB Energy, lifting the ban on new onshore wind turbines, authorising three large solar farms, and establishing a unit to advance Labour’s 2030 decarbonisation goal.

Kirklees Council won the Green Council of the Year Award for its climate action plan, investments in renewable energy, and efforts to enhance local green spaces.

The panel of judges awarded former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak a wooden spoon for rolling back key climate policies during his time in office. This was presented by Dale Vince. This award is given to politicians who have consistently delayed, obstructed, or opposed progress on environmental issues.

The awards were closed by Dale Vince OBE, green energy industrialist and Founder of Ecotricity who emphasised the importance of politicians campaigning on environmental issues.

Commenting at the awards, Dale Vince OBE said:  

“At a time when Britain and the world faces unprecedented environmental challenges, it’s important to recognise and celebrate the politicians who are making a difference. The Political Purpose Awards spotlight the leaders who are making a tangible difference. It’s inspiring to see figures like Ed Miliband and Sadiq Khan driving meaningful change and Lord Deben’s lifelong commitment to the environment is a powerful reminder that political will is crucial in our journey towards a sustainable future. These awards are not just about honouring achievements – they’re about inspiring continued action and leadership in the critical years ahead.”

Also in attendance was Baroness Sue Hayman of Ullock, Barry Gardiner MP, Will McCallum, Co-Executive Director of Greenpeace, Deputy Mayor of London Leonie Cooper, Former Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, Fleur Anderson MP and Chris Packham.

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This may at least partly explain why it’s commonplace to hear arguments about green energy and the related transition to net zero, that characterise it as something expensive that we have to slow down to make more affordable. It is quite normal to expect that we have to pay for the environment with the economy.

Green energy has been a good example of that. It simply cost more and needed support. But things change. In the last few years we’ve seen a rapid price reduction in the technologies we use to harness the power of the wind and sun. In this report we take a close look at the economics of green energy compared to those of fossil fuels. We’ve crunched the numbers and expressed the potential in terms of two key economic measures – jobs and economic growth created. This should enable an update to the narrative on this most vital of all issues – green energy is after all fundamental to the transition to net zero which itself is fundamental to avoiding the worst of the climate crisis.

Our research shows that investing in green energy creates more than twice as many jobs in the UK than the equivalent investment in fossil fuels. And that it contributes almost twice (1.7 times) as much to our GDP. Twice the jobs and twice the GDP growth in broad terms. The transition to green energy is the biggest economic opportunity we’ve had, probably since the first Industrial Revolution.

This report shows that investment in green energy is not an environment policy, it’s first and foremost an economic one. It’s not about ice caps and polar bears any more. It’s about jobs and GDP. It’s the Green Economy stupid, as Bill Clinton nearly said.

Read the full report here – https://www.greenbritainfoundation.co.uk/

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In 2023 the worst affected homes paid £1500 more that year for their energy than they would have. The total additional cost on the nation’s energy bills for that year was a whopping £5 billion. From ‘cutting the green crap’. People in new build homes (built in the last decade) typically paid £700 more for their energy than they would have.

Typical energy bills in 2023 were £2,750. And so the worst affected households saw their energy bills more than double, compared to what they would have been. While those living in new build homes saw a one third increase.

Ten years ago Conservative Prime minister David Cameron infamously declared he was going to ‘cut the green crap’ as he set out a series of anti green measures. He did so making the argument that green policies were expensive and needed to be reined in. Ten years later Conservative Prime minister Rishi Sunak is repeating history. – Last autumn he set out a series of green policy reversals and a renewed anti green rhetoric. At its heart is the argument that we need to slow down the transition to green energy and to net zero, we need to do this to save people money and ease the cost-of-living crisis.

Dale Vince said: “The numbers are shocking, providing clear proof that the cost-of-living crisis has been made worse by the Tory obsession with what they call “cutting the green crap”.

“Tory decisions to hold back green energy have cost households dearly. Last year the worst affected homes paid £1500 more for their energy than they would have if Cameron had not made those cuts. Over the whole decade our energy bills have been a whopping £15 billion higher than they would otherwise have been. 

“It’s clear to me that at the general election a vote for Labour is a vote to nail our energy bills to the floor and keep them there. Because Labour sees the economic opportunity in the green economy, while the Tories have their heads in ideological sand.  And we all pay the bill for that.”

The four ‘green crap’ cuts that Cameron made were; 

• The banning of onshore wind 

• The removal of financial support for domestic solar 

• Scrapping home insulation support schemes 

• Scrapping the Zero Carbon standard for newbuild homes 

All four measures are still in place, ten years later.

Read the full report here.

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Here is our ever growing list of music industry heavyweights…..

4AD, Acid Box Promotions, A Greener Future, Association of Independent Festivals, Association of Independent Music, Backlash Productions, Beggars Group, Believe, Belladrum Festival, Bella Union, Boomtown Festival, Carl Loben, Editor DJ Magazine, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Creative Zero, Deer Shed Festival, Drift Records, ERA, EarthPercent, The FAC, The F List , Festival Republic, Forwards Festival, Glastonbury Festival, Green Gathering Festival, Heavenly Recordings, In Place of War, IQ Magazine, Ivan Milivojev, John Robb, Kilimanjaro Live, KMJ Entertainment, LIVE, Love Saves The Day Festival, LS Events, Matador Records, MMF, Modern Sky Records, Music Declares Emergency, Music Venues Trust, NNA, Ninja Tune, Night Time Industries Association, The O2, Oh Yeah Music Centre, OVO Arena Wembley, Proper Productions, Reading & Leeds Festival, Rough Trade, Save Our Scene, Secret Garden Party, Silver Hayes, Sound City, Stephen Budd Music, Superstruct, Team Love, Transgressive Record, UK Music, UK Music Futures Board, Unit 3, WOMAD, XL Recordings, Xtra Mile Recordings, Young Recording. 

LET’S CRASH THE PARTY. JUST VOTE.

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It’s vital that as many people as possible vote, especially younger voters, who have the most skin in the game.  Ironically, at this election, they will find it harder to vote than ever before. 

At the last election just one in three people under 34 voted, at this election that figure could fall. Across the population, voter turnout has been in decline for decades.  We need to re engage with politics and we need changes that increase participation, not reduce it.  Our democracy is being drained of legitimacy, a powerful downward spiral that feeds itself.  Something must be done.

Today I’m launching Just Vote, a campaign with the aim of persuading 1,000,000 young people to register to vote.

I’m doing this with the support of Saatchi & Saatchi who have had a powerful influence on British political history. In partnering with Just Vote, they’re underlining the importance of making sure that young people have a voice. 

My message to all is this: voting is your superpower. It’s the single biggest way to make a difference. In certain policy areas, it’s the only way. No amount of debate, protest or direct action can penetrate the current government’s ideological blinkers on certain issues.  

The difference new voters can make is colossal; not just to the outcome, but to the legitimacy of the next government. There will be nearly three million people who will be able to vote for the first time at this election – an audience we especially want to reach.

Voting also carries social capital. YouGov research commissioned for Just Vote found that the UK public thinks people who vote are more intelligent, trustworthy, and attractive than non-voters. 

Finally, it’s not enough just to persuade young people that voting is worth their while. Just Vote’s mission is to ensure that young people are able to exercise that right unhindered by the government’s new Voter ID legislation. Let’s call it what it is: voter suppression. Just Vote will raise awareness of the new requirements, ensuring that no young person suffers the same humiliating fate as Boris Johnson, when he turned up at the local elections last month attempting to use a copy of Prospect Magazine as ID. 

The snap election has shortened the time available. We’re focussed on persuading as many young people as possible to vote, and then help them jump through the new hoops – registering to vote by 18 June deadline and having the correct ID.  

And finally, when the day comes – to Just Vote.  

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“These steps will unleash significant growth in our economy and reductions in our energy bills. With a net cost of zero – that’s my idea of net zero.“

As the Chancellor prepares to unveil his last budget before the General Election, Green Industrialist Dale Vince launches a package of simple cost-free measures that would between them save the nation over £10 billion per year on our energy bills and thus help tackle the cost -of- living crisis.

Green Budget headlines

• 1. Lift the ban on onshore wind – saving £16.3 billion over next ten years on the nation’s energy bills.
  
  
• 2. Reinstate the zero carbon standard for new home building – saving £9 billion over the next ten years on the nation’s energy bills, just from new homes.
  
  
• 3. Cap the price of North Sea gas – as we have with retail energy bills, this would save consumers £60 billion over the next ten years.
  
  
• 4. Break the link between gas prices and electricity – saving the nation £50 billion over the next ten years.
  
  
• 5. Launch a national program for Energy Independent homes – which will produce 25% of the green energy we need to get to 100% green energy (with no grid delays) and lower home energy bills by £1500 per year.
  
  
• 6.  We can fund the energy independence national programme – by transitioning subsidies away from fossil fuels (currently £16 billion per year) to this program over a 5 year period.  
  

The first four of these policies will knock over £10 billion a year off our energy bills and we need no public money to achieve this. 

The Energy Independent homes program can be funded by repurposing the £16m per year we spend on fossil fuel subsidies. 

 The first five years of this transition will pay for the entire Energy Independent homes program and the second five years will see the nation £80 billion in credit through saved subsidies alone – not allowing for the GDP and job growth and general economic stimulus of knocking £10 billion a year off of our energy bills.  

“I expect nothing on the green economy from this budget and this government. They’ve turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to the incredible opportunity we have for national economic regeneration – and the opportunity to decisively tackle the cost of living crisis. 

“We can nail our energy bills to the floor, permanently, by pursuing these simple cost free measures. We can grow our economy and create hundreds of thousands of good new jobs. You have to wonder why, with all this on offer the Government  simply prefers the status quo.”

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When the headline is about a ‘sex offender’ and the someone else pictured is an ‘eco protester’ – it’s very clearly a smear, in my view. I’ve taken this case against the Daily Mail to try and establish the point in law – that people don’t always read the whole article and in fact, often just read the headline and look at the picture – and believe they know what’s going on in the story.  The DM know this of course, but the law as it stands allows them the defence of saying we told the actual (true) story in the following paragraphs – and everybody reads that.

The hearing yesterday was their attempt to have the case dismissed without being heard, we think they will lose and we will proceed to a full hearing.  If that happens they will likely offer to settle using their ‘slush fund’ (through which they pay for their many ‘errors’).  But I won’t accept that.  This is an important point of principle, what they did should not be allowed and it should be clear the courts will not allow it – that way it won’t happen anymore.

http://bit.ly/42Tm6t5

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