A Manifesto for 2024

[Witton Park]

I'm drafting up a manifesto for 2024 General Election. I did one in 2017 and circulated among friends on Facebook and it was reasonably well received, even by some staunch labour supporters.

So I'm going to set out a few policy ideas here and hopefully you'll have a look and feedback.

Here's my opening so far.

Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.
JFK 1961 Inaugural address.
Every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of society as great as he can. He generally neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. He intends only his own gain, and he is, in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention.
Adam Smith 1776

My Manifesto for the coming 2024 General Election.

John F Kennedy’s speech was made before I was born, over 60 years ago, but a read through made me realise how fitting it is in tone for the current times as more people are now looking to the State for solutions than ever before, perhaps forgetting that the state is the taxpayer. It is us.

The Adam Smith quote sets out how hard-working, honest folk doing the best for themselves and their family has a knock-on effect to wider society.

It’s my firm belief that every UK citizen should look to leave this world having shown intent to put more into it than they take out. It will not always be the case and perhaps cannot always be the case, but the intent should be there and the system should recognise that.

[Witton Park]

Here is my first department.

Energy Security and Net Zero

Immediate order of 8 x Small Nuclear Reactors (SMRs) from Rolls-Royce with an option for another 8, to be owned and run through the State owned Great British Nuclear Ltd (used to be British Nuclear Fuels) which will be renamed British Energy Ltd (BEL).

Encourage exploration for Oil & Gas and for it to be brought ashore, refined, stored and distributed from the UK.

Grant 2 x test permits to frack for 10 years

Build 2 new Gas Powered Stations linked to the fracking locations to be owned and run by British Energy Ltd.

Private sector will not receive any subsidies for new energy projects.

Plan for a UK Water Grid system.

Identify sites for new reservoirs, with special focus on sites where hydro generation can be incorporated in to any such development.

[Marco]

Here is my first department.

Energy Security and Net Zero

Immediate order of 8 x Small Nuclear Reactors (SMRs) from Rolls-Royce with an option for another 8, to be owned and run through the State owned Great British Nuclear Ltd (used to be British Nuclear Fuels) which will be renamed British Energy Ltd (BEL).

Er, which taxes will the Witton Park Party be raising to fund this? The optimistic estimate in February 2021 was for £1.8 billion per SMR. So with at least 10 percent inflation, and the fact that large info structure projects seem to end up eventually costing 3 x what was originally said, we're looking at around £48 billion. That's about the same amount of money as is currently being spent to build the London-Armitage (Staffordshire) high speed railway.


https://world-nuclear-news.org/Artic...very-of-UK-SMR

[noel]

I agree with the nuclear reactor bit. And hydro.

I don't agree with more oil gas and fracking.

Move towards renationalisation of water - I agree.

[Mossdog]

Any policy that doesn't: send us back to enduring the living standards of the pre-industrial cesspit of the middle-ages and the delights of a Malthusian zero-sum poverty trap; lead to unilateral industrial disarmament, so that we can't readily defend and independently feed and power ourselves in a world of muscle-flexing totalitarian regimes and martially minded, would-be-world-dominating religious death-cults, will get my vote.

Oh, and that ensures ready supplies of custard creams and recognises border-collies and their owners as having legitimate and extensive rights to roam wherever the heck they wish.

[Witton Park]

Er, which taxes will the Witton Park Party be raising to fund this? The optimistic estimate in February 2021 was for £1.8 billion per SMR. So with at least 10 percent inflation, and the fact that large info structure projects seem to end up eventually costing 3 x what was originally said, we're looking at around £48 billion. That's about the same amount of money as is currently being spent to build the London-Armitage (Staffordshire) high speed railway.


https://world-nuclear-news.org/Artic...very-of-UK-SMR

Well for one this is part of my manifesto - a package, but let's break this down.

£1.8 Billion for an SMR works out at around £40-£60/MWh over the 60 year life. The whole life cost is very good.

Offshore wind is currently £73 (with pressure to increase as there's been no uptake) and floating Offshore Wind at £176.

Offshore wind don't bear the cost of transmission connection and don't bear the cost of the backup, so this very much at the lower end of the cost to consumer for wind.

So it's quite feasible for a State owned private enterprise run in a similar way to EDF to go and borrow commercially, or borrow from Government, and sell in to the grid at (say) £65 and be financially sound.

It would be as carbon neutral as is possible if that's what floats your boat.

It's also reliable baseload to stabilise the grid.

If the Govt does invest in this, it is investing in infrastructure, something good old Gordon Brown used to tell us was a good reason to borrow.

[Witton Park]

I don't agree with more oil gas and fracking.

Two issues here - so lets take non-fracked.

What do you think is better?

1. Freezing the gas in Qatar, shipping it to Milford Haven, offloading and putting in to use.

2. Using our own gas.

I'm not ruling out 1. It will be needed, but option 2 is a better option in my mind, so we should use what resources we have.

This spring/summer when demand was low, we sold to the Dutch who store, then they sell it back at peak and make a pretty penny and put up our bills - with our gas.

So hence I have tied it to infrastructure investment so we store the gas, we then have our backup and if the Continent need some in the winter, we are the ones providing it from our backup at premium rate.

That's what Norway does and is what we should do, albeit on a smaller scale because we haven't got the reserves.

Now to fracking.

The main fracking area is under me and the conflict is mostly from a few folk on the Fylde and some flying eco-loons from out of area.

I understand the concerns of the locals, so we would have to have appropriate compensation for them.

eg.
An offer of compulsory purchase at market price + 20%.
Discounted supply of gas.

It hasn't been given a proper go. This is a limited trial, we will be using gas for several decades and we have possibly 100+ years gas reserves underneath us.

[Marco]

Well for one this is part of my manifesto - a package, but let's break this down.

£1.8 Billion for an SMR works out at around £40-£60/MWh over the 60 year life. The whole life cost is very good.

Offshore wind is currently £73 (with pressure to increase as there's been no uptake) and floating Offshore Wind at £176.

The real cost to build will be £6 billion per SMR and then, if we're talking about the whole life cost, there is the de-commissioning cost which with nuclear power has historically been higher than the build cost. If we take a low estimate of £12 billion per SMR then we're looking at £267-£400/Mwh. On top of this we have the security risk, hazard risk, and problem of locating the SMRs and the opposition this would cause. It makes wind power look cheap.

So it's quite feasible for a State owned private enterprise run in a similar way to EDF to go and borrow commercially, or borrow from Government, and sell in to the grid at (say) £65 and be financially sound.

Ah, borrowing. So a 'State owned private enterprise' borrows £48 billion at 5 percent interest (minimum) - that's £2.4 billion a year that the State has to find to pay the interest alone. So, at a time when the country doesn't have the money to finish an existing infostructure project, which taxes will the Witton Park Party raise to fund this?

I can't wait to hear your party's immigration policy

[Graham Breeze]

Two issues here - so lets take non-fracked.

What do you think is better?

1. Freezing the gas in Qatar, shipping it to Milford Haven, offloading and putting in to use.

2. Using our own gas.

I'm not ruling out 1. It will be needed, but option 2 is a better option in my mind, so we should use what resources we have.

This spring/summer when demand was low, we sold to the Dutch who store, then they sell it back at peak and make a pretty penny and put up our bills - with our gas.

So hence I have tied it to infrastructure investment so we store the gas, we then have our backup and if the Continent need some in the winter, we are the ones providing it from our backup at premium rate.

That's what Norway does and is what we should do, albeit on a smaller scale because we haven't got the reserves.

Now to fracking.

The main fracking area is under me and the conflict is mostly from a few folk on the Fylde and some flying eco-loons from out of area.

I understand the concerns of the locals, so we would have to have appropriate compensation for them.

eg.
An offer of compulsory purchase at market price + 20%.
Discounted supply of gas.

It hasn't been given a proper go. This is a limited trial, we will be using gas for several decades and we have possibly 100+ years gas reserves underneath us.

Mmmh. We have of course been importing liquefied natural gas for over 60 years, initially from Algeria, then the USA. In my younger days I had some responsibility for dealing with tens of millions of cubic feet of the stuff every day as it arrived in Leeds. And I am in favour of fracking, and nuclear power: but then I am a thinking engineer who can do sums. And since I am not a holier than thou, I'm here to save the earth and mankind, innumerate vote seeking politician my awaited new car has a petrol engine.

[Witton Park]

The real cost to build will be £6 billion per SMR

Marco you've contradicted yourself.

and when it comes to decommissioning, do you know how many UK Offshore wind farms have been decommissioned yet?