British Gas to increase their prices.

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail....-prices-80-month.html

Is it not time that our Government stepped in to either cap energy prices or nationalise all utilities, because how much longer can the long suffering British public remain hostage to these money grabbing foreign owned utility companies?

If this isn't possible, and since it is British Gas who are the first to increase their prices each year, then why don't the majority of British Gas customers leave British Gas and put their gas and electricity needs in the hands of another supplier?

At least this would send them a message.

[DTCwordfan]

though it's a little imprecise because of some variance in the gas composition, 1m3 N-gas = an average of 10Kwh....

No gas bill here to look at the unit price.....but it would suggest 8 times cheaper than the Euro equivalent? That surely can't be right.

[ichkeria]

Privatisation was sold as an option which would offer cheaper energy through competition. The only competition is to see whose turn it is to raise prices first before the rest follow suit ;-) And sold as the public buying a stake which is also nonsense as what has effectively happened is that public ownership and accountability has been sold off to heaven knows where

[emmie]

Membership applications by the UK to join the EEC were refused in 1963 and 1967 because the French President of the time Charles de Gaulle doubted the UK's political will.

It is understood, however, his real fear was that English would suddenly become the common language of the community.

Alec Douglas Home was PM in 63
Harold Wilson was PM in 67
so could have been either Labour or Conservatives who took us into what was then the EEC

[ichkeria]

No point leaving British Gas. All the other companies will be following suit soon enough. Quite possibly even by prior arrangement ...

[Gromit]

Madmaggot,

You are mixing up EU membership and the single currency. Greece could quite happily go tits-up and no one would really care, if they hadn't have joined the Euro. No one is bothered about Greece, but the Euro is not allowed to fail, so reluctantly, the Eu has to save Greece. Brown, for all his many faults, kept us out of the Euro, and that was a fantastic decision.

[emmie]

But it wasn't what Blair wanted was it. He wanted to go hell for leather to adopt the Euro, and where is he now.

[mazie]

Well I changed 12 months ago and in September signed up for a fixed rate until 2013. I'm really happy (at the moment ) with EDF. Everything is done on line meter readings and bills and it works really well for us.

[DTCwordfan]

ichkeria, the wholesale market prices are moving north, so what are the gas/tricity retailers supposed to do - and as the table shows we are in the fourth quartile of EU prices....i.e. the lower end. And lets be clear Centrica BG has no formal linkage to the BG Group - two separate companies completely, both British.....

[Gromit]

Em10,

You are not paying attention. Labour was anti-Europe in 1967 and had no desire for us to join. The Conservatives were the Europhiles then. Heath took us in without any referendum. We were not consulted, we were just told it was a done deal and we were now part of Europe.

[mightyWBA]

Gromit..The whole point is just because somebody decides to do something years ago doesn't mean it can't be changed.
It's like blaming the Romans for our road network.

[Brenden]

And Harold Wilson prime minister in 1975 hailed the yes vote as an "historic event", he supported the yes vote, now Tony Benn was firmly against it.

[friedgreentomato]

Do you think home heating oil should be regulated as well then?

[Brenden]

Gromit, Heath took us into the common market - trading only - not a federal state as it has now become.

[Gromit]

Em10,

If the Prime Minister had wanted us to join the Euro, we would have joined the Euro. We didn't.
The Conservative's Chancellors definitely did want us to join the Euro taking us into the ERM and losing us £3.5billions in a single day, black Wednesday.

[Gromit]

Brendan,

Harold Wilson and the Labour Party was anti-Europe and he did not hail the 'Yes' vote as an historic event. You have made that up.

[madmaggot]

friedgreentomatoes; no-one cares about domestic heating oil prices they just harp on about gas and electricity. People should try paying the prices for gas that we have to pay for oil, then they'd have good reason to carp! All we can do is turn the thermostat down.

[Gromit]

Brendan,

// Gromit, Heath took us into the common market - trading only - not a federal state as it has now become. //

I blame the nincompoop who signed the Masstrict Treaty and set on this Federal course.

[friedgreentomato]

madmaggot i agree i put in 500l thi month £322 and I am lucky if that last 2 months

[emmie]

nowhere does it say Wilson was anti Europe.

http://news.bbc.co.uk...d_4187000/4187714.stm

[emmie]

successive politicians surely have had ample opportunity to change the nature of our relationship in the EU, they have not done so because they do not wish to, seeing that we are supposedly better off in EU than not.
Wilson i don't believe was anti Europe. Going on the various links i have looked and one i provided. It matters not a jot, we are in, and unlikely to come out, nor indeed get any kind of referendum, no matter what Cameron says.