By Paul Homewood
John Junor must be turning in his grave!
The newly woke Daily Express has launched its campaign for a Green Britain, much to the disgust of most of its loyal readership it seems.
On Monday it announced:
The Daily Express is today launching a revolutionary campaign to help save Britain’s environment and give a £21billion boost to the economy.
Along with green entrepreneur Dale Vince we are calling on the Government to scrap VAT on green products and to make more space for nature.
An exclusive poll commissioned by the Daily Express shows we are tapping into a new national mood with 66 percent of adults worried by the state of the planet, climate change and the decline of wildlife and nature. And there is a majority in favour changing the tax laws to encourage a greener approach and to make polluters pay.
The Daily Express is calling on Boris Johnson to show world leadership on the issue in the run-up to the G7 summit in Cornwall in June and the crunch Cop 26 climate change summit in Glasgow in November.
Our “Green Britain Needs You” campaign has already won the backing of the bosses of the biggest green groups who between them represent well over eight million members.
Even allowing for people who are members of more than one group, this constituency is far bigger than the one million members of the UK’s political parties.
The supporters include the National Trust, RSPB, The Wildlife Trusts, WWF, Greenpeace Friends of the Earth, the British Trust for Ornithology plus industry bodies such as Solar Energy UK and the Federation of Master Builders.
As a starting point we want a shake-up of the tax system so that products that help fight climate change by pumping out zero or close to zero emissions pay zero VAT.
The Zero for Zero campaign has been triggered by tax contradictions such as electric cars – which are intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – paying the same 20 percent VAT as petrol and diesel vehicles.
Solar panels can carry 20 percent VAT whereas burning coal or gas at home carries just 5 percent VAT.
Refurbishing or insulating your home incurs 20 percent VAT whereas building a new one is zero-rated.
The chief executive of the Energy Systems Catapult, Philip New, said: “With only thirty years to go before we must reach Net Zero emissions, the incentives to reduce carbon across the economy are a mess.
“Where strong incentives are in place, they have helped drive coal off the electricity system and reduced waste going to landfill. In other areas, such as domestic heating, aviation, and agriculture we are effectively subsidising pollution.”
Last year a report by Green Econometrics predicted a 0.8 percent boost to GDP – about £21billion – from a “modest” package of green measures and a cut in VAT of just 5 percent.
A study for the Federation of Master Builders forecast a £15billion boost to the economy from a cut in VAT on housing renovation and repair work from 20 percent to 5 percent.
Brexit has given the Government the perfect opportunity to reform VAT. Previously it claimed that EU rules stopped it from unilaterally lowering VAT but Brexit means Britain now has a free hand.
Mr Vince, the founder of green energy company Ecotricity which supplies 200,000 customers, writes in his book Manifesto: “We need to use the tax system to encourage people to do the right thing.
“For instance, green energy bizarrely pays a carbon tax, even though it produces none. Large energy users are exempt from the same tax, even though they use fossil fuels. Green energy and energy-efficient equipment should be zero-rated for VAT.
“We spend £50billion a year bringing fossil fuels to Britain just so we can burn them. Yet renewable energy is universally available and will never run out.”
Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the Federation of Master Builders, said: “The UK’s 28 million homes are responsible for a fifth of our carbon emissions.
“So if the Government is committed to net zero, it should be making it easier for everyone to make their homes greener.
“We know that VAT costs put off almost a quarter of people from improving their homes, and builders tell us a VAT cut is the single biggest change the Government could make to help boost their businesses and protect jobs.”
The British Property Federation, which represents a £115billion industry, went further and called for maintenance, repairs and refurbishments to be zero-rated for VAT to help Britain get to Net Zero carbon emissions.
The fact that the campaign is backed by a veritable army of pigs at the trough, such as renewable energy suppliers, builders and of course Dale Vince obviously has nothing to do with the matter! Even though they stand to benefit massively as a result.
What the newly woke Express forgot to tell its readership is that all of this green nonsense is already heavily subsidised. Electric cars, for instance, are subsidised to the tune of more than £10,000 over their lifetime, while renewable energy gets £12 billion a year, courtesy of bill payers.
They highlight a poll claiming that 66% are worried by the state of the planet, climate change and the decline of wildlife and nature. No doubt most people will always say they are concerned about the environment generally, but I suspect very few are bothered about climate change, which is of course what the new campaign is really aimed at.
And there is the same old rubbish about green jobs, and a 0.8% boost to GDP. Maybe the bright sparks at the Express might care to explain just who will pay for all of this proposed largesse?
The clue to this damascene conversion lies with the choice of the new editor, Gary Jones, who was appointed three years ago after the Express was taken over by the Mirror Group. As the Press Gazette report today, Jones is yet another leftie, determined to change society:
With another left wing PC remainer in charge of the Mail, and the Telegraph unabashedly going after Guardian readers, what hope is there for a balanced media coverage?
via NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT
February 11, 2021 at 05:51AM
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