Privatised thieves receive free defence

I am very curious as to how easyjet can hedge their jet fuel purchases to provide stable prices for passenger fares right up to possibly mid 2014 (yes, 2014).

This, bearing in mind their fuel often originates from mad, despotic countries ruled by nutters, not perhaps the best atmosphere to try and lock down prices from.

However, Angela Knight, the chief "makey-upperer" from Energy UK, has issued a warning via a laborious interview on the Today programme [where she failed to answer even one direct question, ending up sounding like a tape-loop impression – and a pretty weak and hackneyed one at that].

She thinks (well she would do at the salary she’s pulling in from those energy sharks) that the government's proposals on reducing the energy customer-robbing suppliers totally confusing tariffs won’t work. By reducing them to just four relatively easy ones to get on with, she says this could mean the end of some of the cheap deals currently on offer! (I have no doubt the thieving suppliers will soon get 'round those four anyway in order to line their bulging pockets further).

There are two huge smells here:

Smell #1 -Her previous life, following political failure in 1997 (she lost her seat to Labour in the election), has been to defend the indefensible, firstly as chief exec of the extremely likeable and totally trustworthy (!!!!) British Bankers Association, working for the greedy and dishonest bankers until this August, when she shifted into now defending the greedy and dishonest energy suppliers.

Smell #2 -This just demonstrates the huge gulf between the “private” sector and the money-trousering-at-expense-of-the-consumer, “privatised” sector.

It is positively astonishing that these people and companies keep getting away with it!

Take ex-after-just-over-50-days failed boss of the BBC George Entwhistle who has just walked off with a year's free private health cover from BUPA, £10,000 in legal fees and £10,000 for "communications support" on top of the £450,000 pay-off!

And how about all the Development Agency ex-bosses who have happily been parachuted into various excellently-paid positions, without any competition, while many normal former development agency staff have suffered ever since. Not that I would, for one minute, comment about former Chief Executives of the North West Development Association, London Development Association or Yorkshire Forward as just three of them now trousering six-figure or similarly large salaries.

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