Energy has become a major issue pushing Scotland towards independence. People across Scotland can see that they are being ripped off – they pay the highest electricity bills in the world despite living in an energy-rich country.
“Scotland has the energy – it just needs the power”, new SNP parliamentary leader and MP Stephen Flynn told Westminster last week. He stated that the average bill in Scotland is not £2,500 a year as it is in the UK – it is £3,300 per year. That is despite the fact that Scotland produces six times the amount of gas we consume and that 97.4% of our gross electricity consumption comes from low-cost renewable sources 104.
In answer, PM Rishi Sunak talked about the government’s energy price cap – which is being reduced in April. There was no recognition or acknowledgment of the higher bills Scots face. There was no recognition either of the fact that England’s reliance on Scottish energy exports is increasing (up 67% since 2000), with Scotland exporting 39% of its electricity to England and Northern Ireland in 2019.
The growing anger over how Scotland is made to dance to the UK’s tune over energy policy is encouraging many Scots to feel a sense of urgency in demanding and getting independence.
The UK government has made political choices over energy.
Under current devolution arrangements, the power to regulate the energy market lies firmly with Westminster. The way they have chosen to do it has been ideologically driven and political. Arms-length bodies like Ofgem are only there to enforce the UK government’s rules. Those rules are bad for Scotland and for the Scottish people – but that doesn’t much matter to the UK government, as it is not elected by the people of Scotland. WE NEED TO CHANGE THAT ASAP!!
“Scotland has the energy – it just needs the power”, new SNP parliamentary leader and MP Stephen Flynn told Westminster last week. He stated that the average bill in Scotland is not £2,500 a year as it is in the UK – it is £3,300 per year. That is despite the fact that Scotland produces six times the amount of gas we consume and that 97.4% of our gross electricity consumption comes from low-cost renewable sources 104.
In answer, PM Rishi Sunak talked about the government’s energy price cap – which is being reduced in April. There was no recognition or acknowledgment of the higher bills Scots face. There was no recognition either of the fact that England’s reliance on Scottish energy exports is increasing (up 67% since 2000), with Scotland exporting 39% of its electricity to England and Northern Ireland in 2019.
The growing anger over how Scotland is made to dance to the UK’s tune over energy policy is encouraging many Scots to feel a sense of urgency in demanding and getting independence.
The UK government has made political choices over energy.
Under current devolution arrangements, the power to regulate the energy market lies firmly with Westminster. The way they have chosen to do it has been ideologically driven and political. Arms-length bodies like Ofgem are only there to enforce the UK government’s rules. Those rules are bad for Scotland and for the Scottish people – but that doesn’t much matter to the UK government, as it is not elected by the people of Scotland. WE NEED TO CHANGE THAT ASAP!!