Thomas Fazi, a journalist and author, has written a pessimistic essay for UnHerd predicting widespread social unrest in Britain this winter due to the cost of living crisis, which will likely be severe. Here is how it begins:
Britain may be recovering from a heatwave, but its politicians are already fearful that winter is coming. Only now, more than 170 days since the war broke out, are policymakers realising the potentially catastrophic implications of their gung-ho approach towards Russia.
Just last week, it was revealed that the UK government is preparing for a “reasonable worst-case scenario” over the winter in which below-average temperatures and gas shortages could force authorities to trigger emergency gas-saving measures, including organised blackouts for industry and even households. And this is as energy prices continue to spiral out of control: this winter, the average annual energy bill for a typical household is expected to reach £4,200, or about £350 a month – more than double what households are currently paying and a four-fold increase on the average bill paid just a year ago.
The social consequences would be nothing short of catastrophic, potentially pushing 10.5 million households — a third of the total — into poverty, exacerbating what is already the U.K.’s worst cost-of-living crisis in decades. Yet even when faced with a campaign of civil disobedience, calling on people to cancel their energy direct debits, the government hasn’t been able to come up with anything better than offering households a one-off £400 discount on their fuel bills in October (and a bit more for those on means-tested benefits). Downing Street’s “strategy” to get through the winter seems to be to hunker down and hope for the best.
For all the Brexiteer’s talk of “taking back control”, the post-Brexit political establishment doesn’t appear to be in control at all. They’re not alone, however. All European countries, to varying degrees, are facing the disastrous consequences of what will go down in history as one of the greatest political miscalculations ever – the idea that Europe could weaponise Russian gas supplies without shooting itself in the foot. As the social and economic costs continue to mount, several countries are now preparing for blackouts and energy rationing this winter.
And all European leaders, not to mention the technocrats in Brussels, after sleepwalking into this crisis, seem equally clueless about how to get out of this rut. France, for example, is usually considered less exposed due to its reliance on nuclear energy — and yet, incredibly, nuclear output this winter is expected to be 25% below that of a normal year, due to maintenance and repairs taking longer than expected.
Overall, the entire European political class is proving to be catastrophically ill-equipped to deal with the increasingly complex, interdependent and crisis-ridden reality of our 21st-century world. Indeed, manufacturing new crises, or worsening existing ones, seems to be what they do best. What we need is knowledge, vision, wisdom, and self-restraint — in short, a forward-thinking politics geared towards improving the material and spiritual lives of everyone, including those yet to be born. Instead, what we have is short-termism, ignorance, arrogance, mediocrity, and self-interest – a politics completely divorced from the needs and interests of the majority of citizens.
The author goes a bit off the rails towards the end of this essay, calling for the state to bring energy suppliers back into public ownership, allowing the authorities to control energy prices, as if there will be plenty of affordable energy to go around if only prices are capped and ignoring the fact that the reason we’re so short of fuel is because of insane environmentalist utopianism (see Jordan Peterson’s recent essay).
Nevertheless, it’s well worth reading in full.
Stop Press: Daily Sceptic contributor Philip Pilkington has written a piece for UnHerd pointing out that Britain’s current trade deficit is nothing to do with Brexit.
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Don’t censor him, let him have his say. I’d rather know what he really thinks than force it to keep it to himself. Especially given he is in public office, let’s definitely know what he thinks..
No Stewart. I certainly agree that we should know what he tweets.
But no evidence he is even capable of thinking.
That’s great. It is how he FEELS that is important.
Bless his little cotton socks!
Lib Dem = Communist.
Stop ULEZ stop 15 Minute Cities
Leaflet
Obviously a legitimate response to this despicable creature would be to lock him in a room and keep him on a bread and water diet for a year or two but I am not so hateful and anyway it would only remove one scabby problem.
The Lib Dims as an organisation clearly have some internal reviews to undertake but these people are so far up their own arses and so disconnected from reality that they are beyond redemption.
Nazi connotations are inevitable when such vile statements are thrown about but that is not my way. Although I have no faith whatsoever in our corrupted political system it is to be hoped that this POS will get his due reward come election time.
What a shabby disgrace.
I was there and object to the idea I should be gassed for listening to a debate but agree with stewarts comment that he shouldn’t be censored.
Poorly worded but not that hard to grasp – saying cars poison the air and attempts to stop them from introducing low emission zones would lead to people having to breath carbon monoxide, so the members of this petition should understand what that’s like.
The whole thing is a scam but let’s not fall into the trap of overaction offense grifting.
I don’t have access to the full Twitter post so I am going by what’s written here, which may be incomplete and not fully representative. But it’s a stretch. Small amounts of carbon monoxide in the air may be harmful but filling an enclosed space full of people with it will lead to death.
I’m not “offended” by what he said. Offence is taken, not given. What he said is certainly in poor taste and I would not have said it, but I’m more that happy for him to run his mouth and expose himself for what he is. Never silence an idiot.
Come on, Paul. Petrol burns so cleanly it’s amazing, and diesel engines since early 2000s are also extremely clean. Carbon monoxide emitted from ICEs is negligible, especially when rapidly dispersed outdoors. Stop believing the hype. No one is suggesting we should drive our cars everywhere in small, enclosed spaces (where carbon monoxide would probably become a problem, as this LibDimWit knows full well).
As tof says below, never interrupt a fool.
Happy to let his stupid tweet stand, uncensored. Freedom of speech for ALL; otherwise, it’s not freedom of speech, is it?!
You are from the ‘Academy of Topsy-Turvy Morality’. Please carry on and explain to us how Mr Tarling is a victim in all of this and how much he needs our support.
Ok so at what point can people take offence, say when they are being herded into cattle trucks by armed guards, would that be the right time?
It’s indeed not hard to grasp: Reportedly, modified cars were used to kill people by carbon-monoxide poisoning during the third reich. And that’s what liberal democrats who know this story secretly dream of doing with their political opponents.
Isn’t it funny how the left scream about ‘hate’ but seem to provide most of it. Unless Awareness Training involves some rough types giving Mr Tarling a shoeing round the back of the bins, it would be far better to publish this every day to remind him of what happens when you begin to see your opponent as less than human.
Thanks for causing me to dribble coffee down my nice clean, white t-shirt.
If Mr Tarling had offered to fill the room with the same quality of air found alongside most major roads in Edinburgh he might have had some sort of point – though as it wouldn’t do any harm people might not get the point.
There’s a clue in the name of these things: Ultra Low Emissions Zones.
Off-topic – https://www.technocracy.news/the-great-de-banking-global-draconian-and-devastating/
Patrick Wood’s take on the Mercola / Farage de-banking. Orders coming directly from BIS.
https://www.technocracy.news/environmentalists-betray-the-environment-they-claim-to-protect/
Not off-topic at all.
A first rate article from the Black Cat. I don’t read this chap as a rule because the refusal to use capital letters is insulting but this piece has been properly presented.
“There are no nations that got rich without using a lot of energy. That’s HOW you get rich. And early on, it’s a messy process. Find me a country that went from “poor” to “rich” in any generally applicable fashion without going through a period of nasty environmental degradation. (And no, becoming a banking haven or city-state trade emporium does not count as this neither scales to large populations nor are they universally applicable.) It’s just not a thing. Those inept at generating and using power do not fare well. It’s a path to penury and misery. It’s a path to societal failure.”
”Michael…….has agreed to take on the appropriate awareness training.” Awareness of what, the right of citizens to go about their lawful business without being penalised by draconian taxes being imposed without consultation?
As long as the legends that are the Bladerunners are active then there is hope. And everyone should just refuse to pay a penny. This opposition only has power if people unite and stop being mugs.
https://twitter.com/magsophazjon/status/1683613320740323328/photo/1
Seconded.
Sounds like Mr Tarling has the background to make good on his threats. Surely the anti-terrorist police should have taken him into custody and raided his home and place of work taking all electronic devices and and any pipes, ducts, etc.
As an absolute minimum.
A training course does not change the opinions of the LibDem (sic) who made the offensive posting. Yet again we have to ask what would happen if someone not part of the politically approved set were to do that.
I envisage a media scrum and Mr Plod on the door step.
one waits in anticipation of the Dorset authority’s actions. Will they suspend him. Shun him. Disown him. Cancel him.
will his bank account be closed and if not why not.
“Will his bank account be closed and if not why not?”
Presumably, if this gormless, nasty piece of work is not de-banked then by implication his bank(s) share his views.
Disturbing.
Yes well we know from history the kind of people who gas other people and throw their hair and teeth into big bundles were wiped out and purged from the earth. We hunted them down in their last hold ups in Argentina etc. ——-Tyrannical climate dictators will eventually suffer the same fate when people come to know the truth about this phony manufactured climate crisis that would gas us all and chuck our cars and central heating into a huge pile and burn it.