Bishop Hill DECCline and fall?
May 8, 2015 Climate: Parliament Energy: grid I was half-jokingly suggesting that we should start a campaign to have Owen Paterson made the next energy and climate change minister - in reality I can't see Cameron having the gumption to stand up to the green blob for even five minutes. However, Jonathan Jones points me to an interesting post at Ruth Dixon's blog, which raises an interesting possibility:
For what it’s worth (and based entirely on gut feeling) I don’t think the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) will survive to the end of the forthcoming 5-year parliament. I predict that its functions will be returned to their original departments (out of which DECC was carved in 2008). Energy will go back to Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and Climate Change will go to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
If energy were to be transferred to BIS, it would at least give the country a chance of dealing with the energy supply crisis without having any practical policies choked off at source by the blob. It's a good idea.
Which probably means it will not happen.
Reader Comments (30)
Why can't Energy be its own department?
It is as fundamental to the infrastructure of the country as transport or education.
Sticking it in with the needs of financial services and tourism seems as daft as putting Culture in with Defence.
Ruth may be right. The E and CC bits of DECC have been at each others' throats since the start.
DECCline and fail.
DECC is the political graveyard.
Rust in p1ss
Couldn't Climate Change go to the Ministry of Funny Talks? At least everybody would know not to take climate science too seriously.
Considering that the Tory win is the best of the worst I certainly have no confidence in Cameron changing much at all, and based on track record to date...an off piste twiddler.
The EU won't relent
Immigration will barely change - demos to cripple us.
Climate changes slightly, and is a personal money spinner
Losers will become Lords
Money will be borrowed and leech out for predominate personal gain
Once they get these balls rolling they have no intention of shutting them off. Which is precisely what UKIP wanted to do. Clearly self interest pervades to the detriment of most of us.
Nothing new to report really!
Well at least Ed Daveys GONE theres a BIG Plus
golf charlie
"Couldn't Climate Change go to the Ministry of Funny Talks? At least everybody would know not to take climate science too seriously."
*****
Heh heh
I've thought this for some time, it would be good to put energy in the hands of people who know it's value. It should in theory be an easy way to cut government spending as well.
The real problem is that the same useless bureaucrats will be in charge at whatever ministry energy falls under. And the same Qangos will exist run by the same useless elitist bureaucrats? And Dave will have another of his bonfires of the Qangos which will ensure that there will be even more of them.
Having a secure and affordable electricity supply should be Dave's number one priority. But the woman pulling his strings will ensure that it won't be.
Davey lost!!!
Owen Patterson would be a good replacement if DECC continues.
There will be a lot of mulling over the detailed voting figures to determine what voters actually thought, rather than what seats were returned.
How well did Greens do compared to UKIP, for instance?
If the general mood is swinging away from greenery, expect more sense on the energy front...
The obvious thing is to shut down the whole dysfunctional DECC completely and start from scratch. Energy is far too important to be left in the same bureaucratic hands as are there now. The Camerloons do not seem to appreciate how devastating an energy shortage would be in this 21 Century.
Thanks for featuring my post, Bishop!
MCourtney, indeed, as you probably know, the UK had a separate Department of Energy from 1974 to 1992 (disbanded, according to the link, because most of the energy industry had been privatised during the 1980s).
Ruth Dixon, I did know. But I don't see why privatisation means it doesn't get a department.
The trains, planes and buses are privatised (largely) yet we know the Government needs to ensure travel can still happen. So we have a Transport Ministry.
Energy is still essential infrastructure.
They might try to hide the DECC in another department but it will not be allowed to go away. After 2017 the whole of Europe will be governed from Brussels. Cameron will become a regional/ state governor with little or no power over the green zealots in Brussels.
As in france, no building of any kind will be allowed without agreement of the green agency in Brussels. Including, Houses, power stations, business premises etc.
I thought it was run by the WWF anyway.
MCourtney
Perhaps the answer is an Infrastructure Ministry.
Certainly one of my "proposals" during a recent discussion on how we would do things if we were the ones in charge (fuelled by not all that much good red wine!) was to put Energy back into Trade though, like you, I wasn't wholly sold on the idea; I just thought it was a way to get it away from the enviro-nuts that have captured DECC.
So maybe the answer is to put Energy in with Transport in all its various forms and perhaps even water, housing, and therefore local government ...
But if you do that you're heading towards Environment (drainage, river management) .... So it becomes a question of where the frontier is. Needless to say, we never agreed. Except on the quality of the wine!
Incidentally partly O/T -- am I the only person incensed at the defeat of Esther McVey? An excellent MP and potentially an equally good Minister turfed out in one of the grubbiest campaigns of this election and targeted mainly because she was a "class traitor". Attractive young ladies with Scouse accents aren't supposed to vote Tory, and certainly can't be allowed to be one! Not in the Wirral, anyway.
I can see energy being in with other utilities and internet access...
So Water links to the Environment? So does everything else.
Such a Utilities Ministry would be consumer focussed (as that's the common link) and so be more likely to represent the needs of the people.
Could a power station modified to burn wood chips, also produce power by bonfires of Qangos? Obviously Qangos are a finite resource, but only passionate Green Luvvies would miss them, and their selfish hobbies have done enough damage already.
Wonder if Josh will come up with a bit of graveyard humour?
3 x 'Edstones?
I can't see that there will be very much of a change in how green things are handled since green Sam wears the pants in the Cameron household and she is very firmly in the green blob.
ivan, indeed correct. Cameron has started to appoint. Now he is no longer slipping up in green crap at the office, we will have to wait and see who is instructed to clear up the mess.
The best judge of his appointment to the role of DECC Liquidator, will be the volume of howls from the Grauniad.
http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2015/04/30/owen-paterson-jeered-over-climate-change-view/
Owen Paterson has labelled wind power a scam (but that was only after a moratorium on onshore wind was announced in the Tory manifesto) and has stated that solar is 'inefficient', but he's been very careful to keep quiet about his opinions on fracking and coal bed methane. He's also been very pro-badger culling, despite the overwhelming scientific view that pilot culls have been failures.
I would not trust him with either the energy or environment portfolios.
Salopian, does Owen Paterson favour throwing badgers into wind turbines, cooking them with solar panels, or a bit of fracking gas discretely leaked into a sett?
I know the conventional methods of road kill are very effective, and certainly popular with Red Kites in central/southern England, but some school teachers object to 'live' demonstrations of natural recycling so close to their school.
Some of the school kids reckon it is much more interesting than learning how to separate 8 different types of recyclable rubbish, but that is just the modern curriculum for you.
@golf charlie: WTF??????
Salopian, sorry, I thought the silly season started early this year to make up for Miliband's decision to accept all the blame, to spend more time with his partner and their kitchens.
Given that Cameron's father in law is getting a very nice six figure pay off from milking renewable subsides ,indeed its not a little ironic that those who have done best out of onshore wind are the very same land owning gentry so hated by the left.
And with Tories like Gummer having their nose firmly in the trough .
While Mrs Cameron is very keen on the whole 'green thing ,' and sadly there is still much 'prestige' to be had on the international stage by talking big on 'evil CO'
Therefore, I think we will have to wait and see .
best of worst is has good has it gets right now.
Golf Charlie: fair does.
@Knr remember who paid for Cameron's and many Tory election funds, wasn't it Windpower and green energy subsidy mafia funds ?
- Ed Davey or someone will probably be enlisted to ring up the wives/partners of key politicians who survived to sweet talk them so they in turn put pressure on their spouses to
save the planetput easy money the way of green investment scamsCameron, and his puppet master Samantha, are died in the wool green fascists. The only thing new he will do is increase the amount of windmills on his father-in-law's tax farm.