UK Politics Mega-thread - Page 369

On August 01 2017 07:10 Plansix wrote:
Are there specific "end dates" for other parts of the EU benefits?

3. The Treaties shall cease to apply to the State in question from the date of entry into force of the withdrawal agreement or, failing that, two years after the notification referred to in paragraph 2, unless the European Council, in agreement with the Member State concerned, unanimously decides to extend this period.

On August 01 2017 07:10 Plansix wrote:
Are there specific "end dates" for other parts of the EU benefits?

On August 01 2017 07:55 bardtown wrote:
The question at hand is about what shape the transition will take. People are concerned that the transition period will not have a clear end date and that the government will collapse beforehand, resulting in the next government remaining in the transitional state and never actually leaving. This is supposed to be reassurance that the transition phase will not allow for unrestricted immigration.

EU inclined Tories are pushing for a longer transition. Some of them may genuinely think that is the best course of action, but others are certainly plotting to prevent leaving the market/customs union. They are close to overplaying their hand, though, in my opinion. It's very hard to imagine them gaining any ground if there is a leadership contest because the membership are so eurosceptic. If David Davis is the next PM I think it's safe to say Hammond won't be in the cabinet.

On August 01 2017 08:09 Gorsameth wrote:

What transition period?

On August 01 2017 08:14 bardtown wrote:

Part of the deal the EU/UK are negotiating.

Energy giant Centrica, which owns British Gas, confirmed the end of its long-standing price freeze after it mistakenly published an incomplete statement about the price hike on its website on Monday.

It means the average annual dual fuel bill for a typical household on a standard tariff will rise by £76 to £1,120 - an increase of 7.3%.

The company said gas prices would not be going up.

British Gas said the increase for electricity was its first since November 2013 and that it would give a £76 credit to more than 200,000 vulnerable customers to protect them.

Pre-payment meter customers are not affected by the price hike.

Research suggests that British Gas should be cutting bills, not putting them up, as the wholesale cost of energy has been falling.

Analysis of energy regulator Ofgem's supplier cost index by collective switching site The Big Deal shows that since a peak in December 2016, the costs for energy companies have fallen by 9%.

But British Gas chief executive Mark Hodges asserted "wholesale prices during the last 12 months have not gone down" and that the price hike was down to "cost pressures".

He told Sky News: "We haven't taken this decision lightly. We realise that 3.1 million people are affected. But we have in the end had to respond, like many of our competitors, to the underlying increases we have seen in electricity.

"Our costs have gone up over the past few years by around 16%, so in the end, despite our own efforts to try and keep our costs under control, our efforts to improve our service, we have just had to make this difficult decision."

Mr Hodges would not be drawn on whether the firm expected to lose customers over the price increase.

"Customers do have choice," he said. "They can move to many other companies... and that puts the pressure on us, and that is why we don't make decisions like today's decision lightly.

"We are very thoughtful about the impact on our customers, and on the number of customers that we are able to serve."

Asked whether customers could see their prices go down in the future, he replied: "We always want to keep our prices as low as possible... so any opportunity we have to either reduce our own costs, or if the costs that we incur that we don't control go down, of course we would consider passing that on as quickly as we can to our customers."

Rising energy bills are squeezing households as inflation also bites through the increasing cost of food shopping - while at the same time latest figures show wage growth has been slowing.

On August 01 2017 19:56 Reivax wrote:
I would find it plausible that the transition period is extended until such a time that Brexit decision is rolled back. Considering the significant hassle that might follow (British nuclear technology being dependent on (predominantly) french state secrets for example, https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/27/uk-exit-eu-atomic-treaty-brexit-euratom-hinkley-point-c).

Right now, it does not seem politically feasible to argue for a revote or an outright cancellation of Brexit, but as time goes on public opinion may well change.

On August 02 2017 02:05 bardtown wrote:
Having principles is hard for this generation to understand.