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The one that got away by Treflyn Lloyd-Roberts Via Flickr: Ivatt 2MT 46464 steams north along the Strathspey Railway at Fisherman's Crossing at the end of an "In Search of Steam" photo charter. This was the only location of the day where we were not treated to stunning full sun. Locomotive: Ivatt 2MT 2-6-0 Mogul 46464. Location: Fisherman's Crossing, near Broomhill, Badenoch and Strathspey, Highland Region, Scotland.
Conservative leader says it is ‘absurd’ to shift away from fossil fuels and leave ‘vital resources untapped’
The Conservative party will aim to “maximise extraction” of oil and gas in the North Sea if it wins power, Kemi Badenoch is expected to announce. Badenoch will use a speech in Aberdeen in the coming days to set out her plans to extract as much oil and gas as possible instead of shifting away from fossil fuels, the Sunday Telegraph reported. She will announce the Tories plan to overhaul the North Sea Transition Authority, which oversees the issuing of licences, dropping the word transition and replacing its 12-page mandate with a simple order to extract the maximum possible amount of fossil fuel. Badenoch said Britain “cannot afford not to be doing everything to get hydrocarbons out the ground” to boost growth. She said: “We are in the absurd situation where our country is leaving vital resources untapped while neighbours such as Norway extract them from the same seabed. “Britain has already decarbonised more than every other major economy since 1990, yet we face some of the highest energy prices in the developed world.
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It really doesn't matter how much oil and gas is extracted because it is sold on the international market and the UK has no say in setting the prices.
Stevenson Square, Manchester.
"Either you support the existing global elite, or you want real change and believe in nation-state democracy.” – Nigel Farage
Reform UK and the Conservative Party have much in common, not least the fact that many of Reform UK's top officials are ex-Tories. It was these Tories who gave us Austerity and the crisis we are now experiencing in our public services, especially within the NHS.
The Tories ALWAYS put money before people and Reform UK is no different. During Austerity, the annual growth of NHS funding was reduced from the historical average of 3.7% to 1.4%: a cut of over 50%. Under Austerity, hospital admissions increased by 20% while those waiting for treatment nearly doubled from 2.2 million to 4.3 million.
At the same time hospital funding was cut by 4% annually, forcing hospitals to find savings. Salaries for NHS staff were kept below inflation, thereby reducing real wages, and social care and public health budgets faced sever cuts thereby increasing demand on an NHS service already on its knees.
The reason I mention this is because both Reform UK and the Tories promise to cut income tax, giving the impression the UK has some of the highest tax rates in the world. This is both nonsense and hypocritical.
Lets take the nonsense argument first. Demark (55.9%), France (55.4%), Austria (55%), Belgium (53.5%), Finland (51.4%), Iceland (46.3%), Italy (47.3%), Ireland (48%) and Netherlands (49.5%) all have top personal income tax rates HIGHER than the UK (45%). Arguably, all of these countries also enjoy a higher standard of living than the UK. It is certainly true that many of the countries with higher top rates of tax are rated as much happier than the UK
Finland, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, the Netherlands and Austria, all have higher top income tax rates than the UK yet they all attain a higher score on the World Happiness Rankings. Clearly, happiness isn’t linked to lower taxation rates. If that were the case the UK would be near the top of the rankings as the total UK tax revenue as a percentage of GDP is BELOW the average for developed countries. The average for western European countries is 39.9% of GDP whereas in the UK we have an average of 33.5% (TaxLab: "How do UK tax revenues compare internationally?")
So, claims we are "overtaxed" and that higher rates would hinder economic growth and drive the most talented from our shores is obviously a nonsense.
Why then do Reform UK and the Conservative Party both put taxation reform at the heart of their policies? The answer is simple: self-interest. Both parties are run by millionaires and they simply want to keep more of their money.
Badenoch has recently stated that she wants a flat rate income tax system, with the wealthy paying the same rate of tax as the poor.
"Kemi Badenoch's suggestion that millionaires should pay the same rate of tax as the poor could cost low earners a £1,200 tax hike, analysis shows." (Mirror: 18/12/24)
Reform UK is no different. Nigel Farage has proposed a big change to the taxation system claiming Reform's UK's tax reforms would benefit lower earners. This is blatantly untrue.
"Revealed: How Farage's £80bn tax cuts would benefit the richest most" (Independent: 20/05/25)
Analysis shows that the richest 10% of the population would gain almost four times as much as the poorest 10%. So much for Reform UK being a party for the working class!
That isn't all. Not only would the proposed tax reforms by both the ex-Tories of Reform UK and the Tories under Kemi Badenoch benefit the richest, Nigel Farage is hiding something even more dishonest.
Farage recently accepted £40,000 for 10 hours work. He was paid this by a company called Nomad Capitalist, a business that helps the rich reduce their tax bills. This firm promotes the idea of "going where you're treated best," encouraging individuals to explore global opportunities for wealth protection and tax optimisation, suggesting dual citizenship as a method of tax avoidance.
Given Farage puts himself forward as a champion of British workers and a critic of "global elites" this revelation is highly embarrassing for Reform UK. Their condemnation of immigrants, refuges and foreigners who come to Britain and claim free housing, free health care and welfare benefits does not sit easily with their leader standing up in front of a conference hall full of billionaires and millionaires discussing strategies on how to avoid paying tax by becoming a citizen of another country.
It is hard to disagree with former Reform UK Deputy Leader Ben Habib who made this comment about Forages double standards:
"Farage doesn’t serve the county. He serves his back pocket"
Conservative and Reform UK proposals to cut taxes are aimed at benefiting the rich. As the UK’s top rate of income tax is already LOWER than the average for developed countries, less revenue from lower taxation means even worse public services than we have now. As most of these are already on the verge of collapse, taxing the rich less will only make the standard of living for the rest of us poorer.
Nor has the opposition front bench sought to explain why it did not begin a new inquiry in government or why it had not raised these concerns in parliament in its new capacity with shadow ministers.
The Conservative front bench did not declare that the 2022 report required further examination when Badenoch was minister for women and equalities or when Philp was policing minister. So I find it hard to believe that the reason why the Tories have now decided that the 2022 report is inadequate is anything other than an attempt to curry favour with Elon Musk.
Ruthven Barracks, Badenoch Scotland
Originally built in 1229, the still standing structures were constructed around the early 1700s after the Jacobite rising. Mostly destroyed and left in ruin by the Jacobites after their retreat from the famous Battle of Culloden the barracks still sits on the old castle mound looking over the countryside.
Historic Ruthven Barracks on a stunning winter's morning, Scottish highlands
Strathspey Signal by Treflyn Lloyd-Roberts Via Flickr: Ivatt 2MT 46464 approaches Boat of Garten station at the end of an "In Search of Steam" photo charter at the Strathspey Railway. Locomotive: Ivatt 2MT 2-6-0 Mogul 46464. Location: Boat of Garten station, Badenoch and Strathspey, Highland Region, Scotland.
