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..... says Dunfermline SNP Energy Spokesman Cllr William Walker "The increase in the official inflation price index to 5.2% is driven by staggering increases in energy costs for everyone which are largely in the hands of the UK Labour Government", says Dunfermline SNP Energy Spokesman, Cllr William G Walker for West Fife and Coastal Villages." "For example, lest anyone forget, the Government takes 70% of the price we pay at the pumps for petrol and diesel through duties, VAT and taxes on the oil producers. This is one of the highest rates in the world and, of course feeds through to all goods and services that require transport. It is almost as bad for gas and oil which many of us use to heat our homes. Even a small reduction in duty would help reduce final prices according to the economic theories of Keynes that Gordon Brown is so fond of in other areas!" Cllr Walker continued: "The cruel irony of all this is that Scotland still has huge reserves of oil and gas, and sits on hundreds of years worth of good, clean coal reserves. Plus we are well set to exploit sea power for electricity generation round our coasts. In theory we are even richer than Norway which now has a huge national oil reserve fund derived from years of extraction from the North Sea, yet we in Scotland have nothing to show for it. Successive UK governments have preferred to spend massive amounts on nuclear weapons and follies like the London Millenium Dome: Remember that? "Some economists are now predicting that inflation has now peaked and may well fall to near 1% sometime next year. There's only one snag. There will be a recession and more unemployment that will drive down prices! Whatever happened to Gordon Brown's end to 'boom and bust' in the economy? It's easy to say these things in the good times when conditions are broadly in your favour. It's the difficult times that test you and Gordon Brown is now failing big time! Cllr Walker concluded: "We have now had 11 years of Labour under Blair and now Brown, posing as world 'statesmen', yet they have wasted years of our energy reserves from which we should have benefited. Their time is up. Gross energy mismanagement is the charge and 'guilty' must be the verdict. We should rid Fife and Scotland of pompous rhetoric. We can surely do better". |
