Richard Boyd Barrett Demands Energy Price Controls

Yeah, I welcome the fact that the deputies have given us an opportunity to discuss the cost-of-living crisis and the energy price hikes, but I repeat what I said last night. Shame, shame on deputies, some of whom have put forward this motion for expressing support for Donald Trump and his rotten agenda which is directly responsible for the energy price hikes, the fuel price hikes that are inflicting misery on hundreds of thousands of people, leaving hundreds of thousands of people in arrears, unable to pay their gas and electricity or crippled with a high price of home heating oil or fuel or diesel. Trump did that and the people who expressed support for him should be embarrassed for their support for that agenda and the misery that it has inflicted on people. And of course, while it's better than nothing to do as their motion does to suggest that we should defer further increases, what is actually necessary is to impose price controls on gas, electricity, petrol, diesel, home heating oil and all of the things that have spiked as a result of Trump's war for oil, which has also more importantly imposed death and destruction of course on the people of Palestine, the Middle East, Venezuela and so on, but it was a war for oil which has now driven up the price of energy and fuel for people across the world including in this country. So we need to seriously control the prices that he has driven up by imposing price controls to make things affordable and making those who are profiteering from the cost of living misery pay for it, which is also completely abstinent from the deputy's motion or the government's thinking or amendment, because we can actually protect people from the cost of living misery if we look at the profits of those who provide home heating oil, making massive profits up again last year, the electricity and energy providers who've seen their profits go through the roof, the oil companies and so on, the data centres and their billionaire owners tax these people and make them pay their fair share of tax, but of course we don't want to talk about that. We don't want to talk about the gross wealth and income inequality and the fact that there is a minority of people who are profiteering from the cost of living and housing and misery that is being inflicted on others. I hope and expect, well I say that sort of half sarcastically, that the deputies will be enthusiastic in supporting the public sector workers who are balloting for industrial action now demanding decent pay increases because of the rising cost of living and inflation and so on caused by Trump's warmongering and the misguided priorities of this government who were always looking after the rich and the billionaires and the corporations who are doing so well while ordinary workers suffer. So we intend to go much further in our amendment of imposing price controls, of introducing free and frequent public transport, of taxing the data centres in order to pay for real relief to give people an energy credit, give people with disabilities support and to support workers balloting for decent pay increases.