Some years\u00a0ago\u00a0at Annual Conference, Nicola said that we needed to concentrate on explaining the \u201cwhy\u201d of Independence\u00a0rather than being caught up in the\u00a0Unionist\u00a0game of \u201chow\u201d to win independence. I was reminded of this again yesterday when I saw\u00a0a graphic\u00a0on Facebook\u00a0about Electricity Standing Charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now I always try to recall the words of Rabbie Burns \u201cJust because you read it on Facebook doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s true\u201d, but\u00a0given the current controversy around the impact that standing charges have on bills, I felt it was worth\u00a0pursuing.\u00a0The Westminster Government has recently kindly reduced the Energy Price Cap to \u00a31923 a year for a typical household. Ok we don\u2019t live in \u201ctypical households\u201d but that\u2019s what they tell us anyway.\u00a0What they try to hide is the impact that Standing Charges have on your bills and\u00a0in particular for\u00a0those on lower incomes where the standing charges account for a higher % of the bill. I doubt that Rishi Sunak\u2019s going to worry about the standing charges as he heats\u00a0his new pool, but a single parent struggling to feed their children will have sleepless nights because of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s sometimes claimed that because an area is more remote or less densely populated this explains the higher\u00a0charges\u00a0but these areas often also produce more power so I\u2019m cynical to say the least about that argument. Although there are lots of consumers in London for example there are very few producers so should Londoners not have to bear the cost of transmission to their area? Why are areas with oil, gas or renewables not compensated for the disruption by lower bills?\u00a0Do they really think\u00a0that Merseyside is underpopulated?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the current set-up one thing is clear; as long as we are dictated to by Westminster, Scotland will be shafted at every turn and the constituency rich south east will be pandered to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n