Best Of

The most frustrating thing about O&G is the amount of focus it gets despite it being, in the grand scheme of things, a rounding error to the economy and our energy security - particularly looking forward over the next 50 years.

It’s the equivalent of the left wittering on about the monarchy. Sure, it’s absurd and you wouldn’t design it that way, but it’s a waste of time and energy when there are much more important topics to deal with.

Scotland is generating 40TWh of electricity a year - double our consumption, and that’s before you take into account curtailment. The UK already has 100 GWh of battery capacity and on current trends/planning will have well over 500 GWh by 2030 (including V2G). We have barely any solar and yet we’re already peaking at 15GW.

We’ll look back at threads like this and laugh.

FPT:

The most frustrating thing about O&G is the amount of focus it gets despite it being, in the grand scheme of things, a rounding error to the economy and our energy security - particularly looking forward over the next 50 years.

It’s the equivalent of the left wittering on about the monarchy. Sure, it’s absurd and you wouldn’t design it that way, but it’s a waste of time and energy when there are much more important topics to deal with.

Scotland is generating 40TWh of electricity a year - double our consumption, and that’s before you take into account curtailment. The UK already has 100 GWh of battery capacity and on current trends/planning will have well over 500 GWh by 2030 (including V2G). We have barely any solar and yet we’re already peaking at 15GW.

We’ll look back at threads like this and laugh.

Indeed. It's a debate I've nearly stopped engaging in.

From what I see, Miliband has been doing some very important things such as sorting out the order in which projects get their "grid connection" slots to make it "who is ready first" rather than "in order of when they asked". The latter apparently lead to a lot of "shadow applications" to guarantee the slots, which mean there was a 6-7 year backlog comprising solar capacity equivalent to a couple of times our peak electricity demand.

Perhaps Ed Milliband will be kept at Energy !

That will be good for the PB blood pressure.

He needs to be the next Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Might I enquire why - 33 times?

Nick Tyrone manfully takes on the Spectator task of explaining why the real winners of last night's three by elections was Reform.

https://spectator.com/article/reforms-defeat-in-makerfield-is-a-blessing-in-disguise/

I saw some SNP people trying to argue that the Aberdeen South result was a success for the SNP.

That’s nothing, I’ve seen PBers arguing that Aberdeen South means that the Kemiservatives ARE BACK!

Indeed.

As I noted this morning, both Makerfield and Aberdeen South should be limited to the present circumstances only and shouldn't be extrapolated.

The Manchester Mayoral election will be of interest. It will tell us how widespread and transferable the Burnseiah Effect is.

If it isn’t, Labour loses. And the shine comes off Burnham rather rapidly.

It’s STV. Should be easy Labour hold

Nick Tyrone manfully takes on the Spectator task of explaining why the real winners of last night's three by elections was Reform.

https://spectator.com/article/reforms-defeat-in-makerfield-is-a-blessing-in-disguise/

I saw some SNP people trying to argue that the Aberdeen South result was a success for the SNP.

That’s nothing, I’ve seen PBers arguing that Aberdeen South means that the Kemiservatives ARE BACK!

It means they're not dead at least, in specific circumstances.

It’s this (forlorn) hope that’s eventually going to kill the few remaining Tories

If Labour take the lead under Burnham perhaps some opportunistic Reform supporters will return. Maybe.

My viewpoint is that the Reform vote is really the Not Labour and Not Tory vote now given a third option.

So the Not Tory vote may return to Labour but it's going to require Reform falling below an (unknown, 18%?) percentage before the Never Labour voters start to return to the Tory party.

Nick Tyrone manfully takes on the Spectator task of explaining why the real winners of last night's three by elections was Reform.

https://spectator.com/article/reforms-defeat-in-makerfield-is-a-blessing-in-disguise/

I saw some SNP people trying to argue that the Aberdeen South result was a success for the SNP.

That’s nothing, I’ve seen PBers arguing that Aberdeen South means that the Kemiservatives ARE BACK!

It means they're not dead at least, in specific circumstances.

It’s this (forlorn) hope that’s eventually going to kill the few remaining Tories

This is however an interesting straw in the wind, via Freedman:

There’s also factional infighting within Reform, which does tend to be the pattern with Farage’s parties. It’s worth reading this recent piece by a Conservative councillor who defected to Reform, and has now defected back, on the challenges this creates. Clearly it’s not an unbiased article given the author is trying to make amends with his colleagues, but this section on how other Tories who moved over now feel is broadly true:

“[They] privately admit how much they miss their former Party and how concerned they are with the dysfunction within Reform. They say ‘focus on what you can get out of it’ and ‘just go with the flow’. Many share my concerns but unlike me they are afraid to admit they made a mistake.”

Quite a few of the defectors did so for reasons of naked ambition rather than ideology, on the assumption that the Tories were falling apart. But Reform’s poll ratings have fallen and the Conservatives’ have stayed stubbornly static. Badenoch’s own ratings have improved a lot. Last night the Tories won back two council seats in Essex, with big majorities, that Reform took just six weeks ago. There are definitely regrets.

Morning all! Let’s talk Aberdeen South first. SNP absolutely scunnered by the usual collapse in SNP vote combined with all other party voters going tactical to oust them. Exactly what I was discussing with Tory activists at the Aberdeen count for the Holyrood election a few weeks.

People like me voting Tory - or them voting Labour or LibDem - is how we stop the nationalist menace. Can I also gently remind our Tory friends on here who rightly want to talk bout how their oil and gas policies won this that their previous policies were the same as SNP and Labour policies…

Congratulations to James Adams who gets elected to Holyrood in Lumsden’s place.

I think that over egging it in Aberdeen South. The SNP vote was down 4%, and SLAB down 19% but the turnout was down a massive 28% at 31%.

So tactical voting, but also voters in Scotland much less interested in Westminster politics than Holyrood, particularly SNP voters.

I am not convinced this good result for the Tories is generalisable even to other parts of Scotland, let alone the rest of the UK.

You called it wrong. Badly.

Show some humility and admit it.

Yes, I got it wrong on Aberdeen South, but my point was that the Holyrood constituency was not congruous with the Westminster one as many were saying.

Well done for at least admitting it.

FPT:

The most frustrating thing about O&G is the amount of focus it gets despite it being, in the grand scheme of things, a rounding error to the economy and our energy security - particularly looking forward over the next 50 years.

It’s the equivalent of the left wittering on about the monarchy. Sure, it’s absurd and you wouldn’t design it that way, but it’s a waste of time and energy when there are much more important topics to deal with.

Scotland is generating 40TWh of electricity a year - double our consumption, and that’s before you take into account curtailment. The UK already has 100 GWh of battery capacity and on current trends/planning will have well over 500 GWh by 2030 (including V2G). We have barely any solar and yet we’re already peaking at 15GW.

We’ll look back at threads like this and laugh.

Indeed. It's a debate I've nearly stopped engaging in, as I think the direction is baked in - just like ULEZs and default 20mph limits in England.

From what I see, Miliband has been doing some very important things such as sorting out the order in which projects get their "grid connection" slots to make it "who is ready first" rather than "in order of when they asked". The latter apparently lead to a lot of "shadow applications" to guarantee the slots, which mean there was a 6-7 year backlog comprising solar capacity equivalent to a couple of times our peak electricity demand.

Perhaps Ed Milliband will be kept at Energy !

That will be good for the PB blood pressure.

Regardless of whether you like or dislike his policies, Ed Miliband does seem to be an excellent organiser and administrator, who has actually got things done in his Department.