Brexit: Siemens Freezes New Wind Power Projects

wind-turbine[1]

Guest essay by Eric Worrall

h/t mwhite – Siemens has frozen new British wind power projects, until the post Brexit relationship with the European Union is negotiated.

Siemens freezes new UK wind power investment following Brexit vote

German energy firm will not make fresh plans until the UK’s European relationship becomes clearer, but existing manufacturing will not be affected

Siemens is putting new wind power investment plans in the UK on hold due to uncertainty caused by last week’s Brexit vote, the Germany energy company has told the Guardian.

A £310m manufacturing hub in Hull that employs 1,000 people will not be affected by the decision, and should still begin producing blades and assembling turbines next year.

But Siemens, one of the few firms to openly back a Remain vote, will not be making new investments until the future of the UK’s relationship with Europe becomes clearer.

Juergen Maier, the firm’s UK CEO, said that an existing blueprint to export offshore wind turbine machinery from the Hull hub was now up in the air.

He said: “Those plans were only beginning to happen and I expect that they will stall until we can work out exactly what the [new government’s] plan is, how we can participate in EU research programmes, and until all the issues around tariffs and trade have been sorted out.”

It is unclear how much money the EU gave to the Hull project but it has put up £525m for the Beatrice windfarm project in Scotland, whose developer will be a major buyer of the Hull factory’s turbine blades.

Despite this EU support, the people of Hull voted overwhelmingly for Leave in what a local councillor described as “a cry of rage”.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/28/siemens-freezes-new-uk-wind-power-investment-following-brexit-vote

The EU is truly losing its grip, if recipients of EU “largesse” reject the EU at the ballot box. The Brexit campaign, and the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), receives some of its strongest support from places like Hull, working class cities which are frequently listed as “deprived”.

Greens often try to paint support for climate policies as a left / right issue, but the truth is far more nuanced. Despite unwavering support for green causes from elite left wing British politicians, the reality is there are plenty of “Reagan Democrats” throughout the world, who are open to persuasion about issues which directly affect their own lives – as UKIP proved with the massive Brexit defections they engineered in places like Hull, some of the most staunchly left wing regions in Britain. Without UKIPs effort to appeal to the left, the Brexit vote would have failed.

I am not suggesting climate was the core issue for most Brexit voters, though I suspect it played a part. It is getting harder to deny the role climate regulations play in high profile heavy industry job losses in working class areas.

Even über green California sometimes suffers a worker’s mutiny against green policies.

To put it another way, people who are one or two paycheques away from homelessness have no time for politicians who promise to make their energy bills skyrocket, if someone makes the effort to offer them an alternative.

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Paul Westhaver
June 28, 2016 6:24 pm

heh heh heh…
I bet! The green/EU/UN socialism fabric is all raveled.
Watch Farage at the EU Parliament today.

Paul Westhaver
Reply to  Eric Worrall
June 28, 2016 6:43 pm

A-1 !!
I was laughing the whole way through that video! LOL “none of you have ever had a real job”
Watching him serving humble pie to his critics was so raw!

Hoplite
Reply to  Eric Worrall
June 29, 2016 12:21 am

Paul,
He didn’t serve humble pie to anyone. The assertions in his speech were absurd and manifestly untrue (which is why they were laughing at him):
– Brexit has damaged the Euro – it has, but only by a quarter of the amount it has damaged the pound
– The EU will be more damaged by not having a fair trade agreement with Britain than Britain will be – anyone who believes this is either mad or brainless.
– Hundreds of thousands of German carmakers will lose their jobs if tariffs are imposed – Britain is only one modest export market in the global market for the German manufacturers – a reduction in British imports would only be a relatively minor hit to them.
Please not that Farage was ‘pleading’ with the EU for a fair deal. Why pleading if Britain doesn’t need the EU? It simply doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.
Paul, you may not be following events but the Brexit vote has caused a political, constitutional, forex and financial meltdown in Britain that has all but destroyed its reputation in Europe (the Commission President joked with Cameron that he might like to take the empty UK commissioners job – as clear a message as possible that Britain’s influence is now zero in Europe as a British PM would never have been spoken to like that in the past.) It remains to be seen how bad it will be for their economy but the signs are getting much worse every day. Their credit rating has been downgraded 2 notches and is on negative watch. Businesses left right and centre are suspending investment plans in the UK. The market expectation is the pound will drop to USD1.2 and some are talking of 1.10 or lower. It has already dropped about 14% from the average value in 2015 and 21% from the average value since 2000.
There is a growing belief in the UK political class (insofar as it can focus on anything at the moment it is in such turmoil) and media commentariat that Brexit will, in fact, never happen. Brexiteers are expected en masse to become Bregeteers when the full fiscal, unemployment and forex impacts of the vote are played out in the coming months.
Farage is an entertaining clown. He is witty and is unquestionably enjoyable company (see the FT lunch with him – Henry Mance article a few months back; very funny). But he is an economic and financial illiterate which is strange given his previous employment in the city.
There is a fine line between self-belief and self-delusion and Farage crossed that line many years ago.

Reply to  Eric Worrall
June 29, 2016 12:40 am

Hoplite, I don’t want to turn this thread into a political one, but you should be very wary of making predictions on the economy. First of all, the pound has gone down (as expected – which will help our exports), but as I write the FTSE is going up! But it isn’t about money, it’s about quality of life, as Mr Farage has tried to point out. Our population rose 500,000 last year. This isn’t sustainable. We have a higher population density than Pakistan, for crying out loud! The odd thing is, EVEN IF someone had seen the future and stated that some months after Brexit the pound would still be low…so what? That isn’t what it was all about, and I know that people who, like you, bang on about how much our economy will be hit, continually fail to see the bigger picture.
I am confident that I can destroy all your arguments, but as I said, this isn’t a political forum. You even seem to think that we had influence in the EU!!! We did not, that’s why we couldn’t change it. For many years now, we have been voted down on issue after issue – 72 at the last count, I believe. ‘Majority Voting’ (something you don’t seem to understand) put paid to any influence we could ever have. The EU will collapse in time – not because of us (though we will be the catalyst) but because it cannot reform due to vested interests and policies inherently designed to fail.
The pound WILL continue to be low for a little while (so what?), Brexit WILL happen, British companies WILL continue to do well (watch the FTSE), and other countries WILL follow. And all this is thanks to one man, Mr Farage. Without his vision of how the EU would unravel, and without his wish for an independent Britain, we wouldn’t ever of had a referendum…because, as you must know, the political parties don’t do democracy. Brexit was about immigration, about the EU’s mad free-movement policy, and about the fact that we have a net migration rate of 330,000 immigrants A YEAR. In three years that’s another million! See the bigger picture, Hoplite, a lower pound is insignificant.

Paul Mackey
Reply to  Eric Worrall
June 29, 2016 2:01 am

@Hoplite. Given 60% of UK exports are to Non EU countries, a weaker pound will make our exports cheaper and is just the boost the economy needs to take that 60% higher and cement the fact we don’t need to rely on the EU.

graphicconception
Reply to  Eric Worrall
June 29, 2016 2:07 am

“Britain is only one modest export market in the global market for the German manufacturers …”
Britain is the third biggest importer of German goods and is the second biggest net importer. How much “less modest” do we need to be?
http://www.worldstopexports.com/germanys-top-import-partners/2050/

Reply to  Eric Worrall
June 29, 2016 3:02 am

The virtue of Hoplite’s predictions is that they are not predictiions, but threats, of tyrants.

Reply to  Eric Worrall
June 29, 2016 3:08 am

Most noticeable is that the Remain crowd and fellow travelers treat this very similarly to the manner in which battered wives used to be counseled by friends and advisers and threatened by abusive husbands and their allies.

Reply to  Eric Worrall
June 29, 2016 3:33 am

“Most noticeable is that the Remain crowd and fellow travelers treat this very similarly to the manner in which battered wives used to be counseled by friends and advisers and threatened by abusive husbands and their allies.”
I noticed that too. It’s always, “You can’t afford to leave. You have to put up with this abusive relationship because you have no choice.”

Hoplite
Reply to  Eric Worrall
June 29, 2016 4:19 am

Bazzer, Paul , graphic – if the impending exit is beneficial to the economy and to Britain generally why is there a constitutional crisis, unprecedentedly both political parties in leadership contests, the leaders of Leave have no idea what to do next, businesses in so many sectors announcing suspension of investment plans etc?
You wanted to exit – now you’ve got it – the EU is saying go – but now you’re hesitating…….why is that?
I feel sorry in many ways for the English as they are really prisoners of their history and unable to adjust to the modern world. The empire’s gone – and it ain’t coming back. Learn to co-operate with your European neighbours or you will rapidly confine yourselves to just being an economic backwater of Europe (not a threat by the way but the stark reality facing you that we’d be remiss in not warning you of).

Reply to  Hoplite
June 29, 2016 4:46 am

Didn’t help that their elected officials and permanent bureaucrats became downright hostile to the values and systems that enabled its strengths, and, lately, to its natives. Just ask the hundreds of Rotherham girls who were subjected to programmatic sexual abuse while the so-called child protection authorities looked the other way and the feckless press called it “grooming” when finally forced to provide the story. And, the others in other cities.
It is indeed a threat to state, “Join the collective, or perish” when the person stating has the means to provide consequences, as here. Saying it is not does not change this. In any case, Britain will not be the last to leave, which explains all the scolding and panic from the winning voting Britons’ betters. The punishments to come will not be personal, just for those looking on.

graphicconception
Reply to  Eric Worrall
June 29, 2016 5:31 am

Hoplite:
The financial markets are volatile because they made bets about the outcome of the vote and are now correcting. Remember, nothing has actually happened yet – the markets brought all this on themselves.
Labour has never liked their new leader. Timing is just a coincidence.
The current PM is not happy with the result as he campaigned very hard to get the opposite outcome. Consequently, he thinks someone more in tune with Brexit should initiate the formal conversation with the EU.
“… not a threat by the way …” Good, I didn’t feel threatened.

Reply to  graphicconception
June 29, 2016 5:37 am

The algorithms do as they are told. Looking more and more like a bear raid. Just picked off the stops.

seaice1
Reply to  Eric Worrall
June 29, 2016 11:30 am

Bzzer1959 “We did not, that’s why we couldn’t change it. For many years now, we have been voted down on issue after issue – 72 at the last count, I believe.”
Since 1998 when the the figures can be checked the number is 58. How many time did the UK vote Yes do you think?
The number is 2466 in the same period. This is typical “leave” disinformation. The fact is correct, but the interpretation “time after time” is grossly misleading. It occurs on average times year and only 3% of the time. That puts a different complexion on it.
” Brexit was about immigration,” Yes, we all know that.

observa
Reply to  Eric Worrall
June 29, 2016 7:56 pm

So Hoplite you say- “Brexit has damaged the Euro – it has, but only by a quarter of the amount it has damaged the pound”
Well we’ll see how well your illustrious Euro does bailing out the Italian banks and the whole Greek economy among others in the EU house of cards, not to mention continuing to fund all those unelected snouts in the trough in Brussels, without British taxpayers from here on. Perhaps the Scots will help bail them all out when the time comes?
The poll that really counted for all those wobbly Remainders with the vapours now, was when they were asked to put their money where their mouth is and fortuitously and portentously they showed us their true colours-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7806936.stm
Money talks and bulls*#t squarks it seems.

Dave Kelly
Reply to  Eric Worrall
June 29, 2016 8:34 pm

Hoplite
Regarding, as an example, your statement “– The EU will be more damaged by not having a fair trade agreement with Britain than Britain will be – anyone who believes this is either mad or brainless.”
Apparently, the “mad or brainless” include stock market investors. For. as of the close of the markets today (6/29/16). the FTXE 100 had regained all of the initial losses and even made a slight gain for the week (+1.6%)… a mere four days after the vote. Indeed, if one takes the time to look at the charts the FTXE has been rising steadily since the initial drop on the 24th.
In sharp contrast, the DAX continues with a lost 4.5% – with no significant growth since the vote. Similarly the CAC 40 lost approximately 4.3% with no significant growth since the vote.
The clear message from investors is that: 1) investors are far more inclined to invest in a free U.K. than even the strongest EU countries; 2) the EU needs the U.K. far more than the U.K. need the EU.
As for the S&P downgrading the U.K. credit rating… lets be realistic, the other two major credit setting institutions had down graded the U.K. credit rating well before the vote and the S&P is notorious for waiting for “diversionary” opportunities to downgrade countries… as a means of avoiding criticism from the government being downgraded. And, the U.K. government’s “establishment’s reactions to the vote hardly suggest the government as a whole learned anything from the spanking they received from voters. Nor does the vote say anything about the existing government’s spending habits… those habits are an entirely different issue.

Reply to  Paul Westhaver
June 28, 2016 6:45 pm

Thank you thank you for posting that YouTube. I heard only a brief snippet about “…not ever holding a job…” while getting ready for dinner this past evening. So getting to see and hear the whole bloody thing was a real treat.

Reply to  Paul Westhaver
June 28, 2016 7:06 pm

Awesome. Thanks. Having read this site daily for about four yearsit s obvious the eu is beyond useless

Reply to  John piccirilli
June 28, 2016 11:10 pm

Farage was dead on . Did any of you see that edifice those people are sitting in? It makes the UN look like a backyard shack. Just imagine the amount of support staff that place needs, and no-one producing ANYTHING! but regulations, thanks for the video, to me an eye opener looking at the surroundings and the comments Farage made about the place he has been standing in and fighting against for 17 years!!

graphicconception
Reply to  John piccirilli
June 29, 2016 2:33 am

” Did any of you see that edifice those people are sitting in?”
The shape of your parliament speaks volumes. In the UK we have benches facing each other in true adversarial fashion. The EU has the communist type of parliament where the elite sit on a raised platform at the front and the ones who must obey are arranged like an audience.
The EU parliament members are elected but the catch is that they have almost no power – even less than the UK’s House of Lords.
So about 750 MEPs each with a salary of about EUR 100,000 pa.

Auto
Reply to  John piccirilli
June 29, 2016 1:20 pm

graphic – don’t forget the expense claims [generally, it seems, rather lightly scrutinised], which seem to syphon taxpayers’ money to certain goods and services necessary for MEPs’ performances of their duties..
And the Luxemburg-style tax rates paid by Euro-functionaries; about the same as Junckers’ buddy Coca Cola, and the rest, at about zilch per-cent.
And pensions, too, that Croesus would envy.
Oh did you hear Neil Kinnock – for one rather prominent, if occasionally long-winded, Remainer – who gets a Euro-pension that – were he to step out of line on support of the Grand Project – would be eliminated in two shakes of a puppy dog’s tail. And his good lady wife’s, ditto.
And I’m not sure if one son isn’t also ‘representing our interests in Europe’. I may be wrong.
Another son is a Labour MP, so earns his crust – putting up with Comrade Jeremy’s principles.
Auto,
Very glad that the UK will have sovereignty – and can decide for ourselves which folk can come to our country – and which we can eject.
Not be instructed by some dodgily inexperienced Euro-jurists that because a mad axe-murderer has a pet cat, we can’t deport her [or him].

observa
Reply to  John piccirilli
June 29, 2016 8:28 pm

asybot writes- “thanks for the video, to me an eye opener looking at the surroundings and the comments Farage made about the place he has been standing in and fighting against for 17 years!!”
That’s only the tip of the iceberg and for a real eye opener watch this right through and you’ll see why Farage fought the good fight all those years-
https://www.brexitthemovie.com/
Now for the UN and ditching the gaggle of gangsters for a tighter United Liberal Democratic Nations club.

Janice Moore
Reply to  Paul Westhaver
June 28, 2016 7:09 pm

Hear, hear! Thank you, Paul Westhaver, for posting that speech by a true hero for liberty, Nigel Farage.
Heh — they won’t be laughing for long… “What’s that noise?” they will say, rousing from their naps at their desks. It will be the sound of doors slamming as country after country picks up its briefcase and walks — out.
EU: Listen up. Your days are numbered ……
Bwah, ha, ha, ha, haaaaaaaa!!!
(could have done without Farage calling those for liberty “democrats” (ugh) 😉 )

Reply to  Janice Moore
June 28, 2016 9:31 pm

Yet another example of two peoples divided by a common language, Janice. Your Democrats would be either Blaire left or full-blown socialists in the UK. “Democratic” still retains it’s original meaning, untainted by an unaccountable, authoritarian, presidential administration and it’s former Secretary of State.

Marcus
Reply to  Janice Moore
June 29, 2016 7:33 am

Janice, did you notice how many cheered when Farage said” The U.K. will not be the last to leave ” ?? I’m lovin’ it ! The socialist “Agenda 21” takes another deadly blow to the nuts ! ( You can take that two ways) LOL

Reply to  Paul Westhaver
June 28, 2016 8:05 pm

Excellent, Paul. Well done for posting that video.
On the TV news I watched tonight (in the UK), naturally they only showed a snippet. I say ‘naturally’ because I think the British TV news stations (BBC, ITV) are afraid of the additional popularity it would give Nigel Farage were they to show him fighting for British industry in the EU. They prefer to try and denigrate him as a figure of fun holding a pint of beer in the pub.
As a fan of Nigel’s for years, make no mistake – he is a force for good and a force for change. AND he didn’t get the true praise for which he was due, for the outcome of the Brexit vote; most of that was given to Boris Johnson who, to my mind, is nowhere near such a good speaker.
Bravo Nigel Farage.

climatereason
Editor
Reply to  Luc Ozade (@Luc_Ozade)
June 28, 2016 11:39 pm

It must be said that never once during the very long campaign did I hear climate change mentioned. It was never an issue.
However there is no doubt the EU is hopping mad with us.
Please send your ideas for ‘ten ways to punish the Brits for wanting to leave the asylum, which can be used to frighten other inmates’ to;
Sour Grapes
The EU commission
Brussels.
Large grants available to the winner in order to develop the ideas further.
tonyb

Harry Passfield
Reply to  Luc Ozade (@Luc_Ozade)
June 29, 2016 1:24 am

Climatereason: You would have heard tons about CC if you had heard some of the desperate Remainians banging on about the benefits of the EU. According to them the EU was the only body – after the UN – that could save humanity (but mostly Europe) from the ravages of CC. It was all so cliched.

commieBob
Reply to  Paul Westhaver
June 28, 2016 10:41 pm

He’s a politician folks. My guess is that he was playing to his base.
My favorite joke:

Q: How do you tell when a politician is lying?
A: Her lips are moving.

Juan Slayton
Reply to  Paul Westhaver
June 28, 2016 10:50 pm

How can we arrange for this guy to address a joint session of Congress?

Sandy In Limousin
Reply to  Juan Slayton
June 29, 2016 1:15 am

You need Marine Le Pen to address congress. if you can check out her BBC Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis. She doesn’t hold Hillary Clinton in high regard.

4TimesAYear
Reply to  Paul Westhaver
June 28, 2016 10:51 pm

I would like to borrow him for a while….send him to the U.N. 🙂

Simon
Reply to  4TimesAYear
June 29, 2016 1:26 pm

Marcus June 29, 2016 at 7:50 am
“Simple Little Simon…Farage did not insult any countries, he insulted the useless EU bureaucrats ! Reality Matters !”
Mental Little Marcus
Yes the little “useless bureaucrats” the UK is going to be negotiating with very soon. Real sharp. Give the man a gold star for the fine work he is doing for his country.

Simon
Reply to  Paul Westhaver
June 28, 2016 11:54 pm

I would have thought it would have been a whole lot smarter for Farage to be diplomatic at this time. Time will tell how well England can negotiate deals that justifies the decision to leave. But to do that they are going to need the support of many of the countries this man just insulted. Sometimes “straight shooting” is just shooting yourself in the foot.

Reply to  Simon
June 29, 2016 12:32 am

Simon,
Have you thought that it would have been so much less complicated if the Governments of the various countries were NOT involved in agreements between willing buyers and willing sellers? If Siemens is throwing a pooie, it must be based on the need to undo various government regulations that would not have existed in a true free market.

Reply to  Simon
June 29, 2016 2:29 am

Simon, you don’t get it. THEY want to sell to US! They will come to our door. Most of our exports are TO non-EU countries. Most of our imports are FROM EU countries. Our “justification” for leaving was the policy of free-movement, nothing to do with economics.

Marcus
Reply to  Simon
June 29, 2016 7:50 am

Simple Little Simon…Farage did not insult any countries, he insulted the useless EU bureaucrats ! Reality Matters !

richard verney
Reply to  Paul Westhaver
June 29, 2016 12:17 am

“none of you have ever had a real job”

It would be truly funny, if it was not so very true.
It is one of the major problems in politics that politicians have so little real life experience and no commercial/business acumen.
I am alarmed at the thought of politicians negotiating the exit strategy for the UK. We need some real people with real life commercial experience in negotiating major contracts. Perhaps a team made up of some of the major FTSE companies who are experienced in negotiating on the global scale for competitive contracts.
The UK exports about £10 billion of trade into Germany, whereas Germany sells/imports into the UK about £100 billion of trade into the UK, and if that disparity does not give the UK a strong negotiating hand, god knows what will. The higher the tariff, the more money the UK treasury receives and the greater the risk to Germany that it will lose business. Some are suggesting that the trade tariff will between 3 to 6% but that means that the German tax payer will be paying into the UK treasury a net figure of between £2.7billion to £5.4billion annually.
Germany cannot afford to impose tariffs since the German people will not wish to be paying into the UK treasury such sums, and Germany cannot afford to price its goods out of the market place thus jeopardising £100billion of trade. If it was to lose !55 of trade that would cost the German tax payer £15billion per year plus lead to unemployment and welfare payments.
On top of that the UK contributes 15% of the EU total budget. The EU is now losing this and either there will have to be drastic cut backs in what the EU does, or the German people will have to meet the greatest shares of the net funds that the UK had been contributing.
It is unhappy times for the German tax payer (I) having to make up the lions share of the lost net contributions from the UK, (ii) dealing with the migrant crisis and the welfare and housing expenditure that that brings with it, (iii) dealing with the Greek bailout, such the last thing the German tax payer needs is the prospect of tariffs on the £100billion of trade that it does with the UK which may require the German tax payer to pay monies to the UK treasury, risks a loss of market share which could be exacerbated by unemployment and further welfare payments.
However, the politicians because of their lack of real world experience and commercial/business experience do not understand the problem.
Germany is very exposed and the UK ought to get a superb deal.

Hoplite
Reply to  richard verney
June 29, 2016 12:32 am

‘Germany is very exposed and the UK ought to get a superb deal.’
English delusion knows no bounds. Economic realities will bite you in the a$$ real soon, however, and the Union Jack wrapped around you won’t protect you from them.

mwh
Reply to  richard verney
June 29, 2016 1:45 am

Hoplite – you dont present any reasons for staying other than a wild guess as to what might happen when we actually leave and ridiculing the Brexit optomists.
Hmm – who should I listen to a manic negative depressive or an optimistic believer in democracy, difficult one, help me here I need more threats and predictions of doom and gloom to persuade me the ‘Hoplite’ way is best.
Your inability to accept a democratic process which has been discussed at length, is typical of anyone that works to further the ideals of the EU. You dont seem to get that the EU has been thoroughly rejected by a people who have been brainwashed, bullied and lied to right from the start 43 years ago.
It takes an awful lot to raise this sort of anger against the establishment in the UK. If it had been laid out in detail how powerless we are within the EU process, if it was laid out how close we are to the point of no return where we would never be asked our opinion again (April 2017), if it was made clear how we have been cut off from our partners in the commonwealth by trade barriers imposed by the EU, if the PM and chancellor having allowed the referendum to happen had remained neutral the result would have been an even bigger clamour for EXIT.
Conversely if the EU had reformed to be more democratic and had not been so arrogantly dismissive of Mr Camerons pleas for concessions, then perhaps the result would have gone Remains way. However stubborness, arrogance and vindictiveness are the EU’s and evidently Mr Juncker’s Modus Operandi. The blame of problems in the EU will be blamed on Brexit, but we do really know who is to blame and that is the EU itself and its arrogant leader Mr Junckers. They evidently dont like us and would rather power on without us – the development of closer Union and an EU army worries me greatly however will the future unelected commissioners or Presidents be unable to resist using such an army to expand their interests further – after all that is their stated intention for its use.
We are very right to call the EUs bluff here, if it has the right effect then the EU will reform for the benefit of the whole Union and noone else will leave and we will be allowed back once the reforms we have quite reasonably asked for over the years finally take place. It may be however that the EU does what it does best and threaten and bully its member states to submit and takes us back into the EU fold by force…….I hope not, but that is what truly frightens me – this is becoming a superstate on the lines of the Soviet Block – a ruling Elite that had completely subjugated its people and brainwashed them to believe that they had never had it so good and enforced its borders with cold blooded efficiency.
Personally I think that if article 50 is invoked and we Leave the EU – and that still seems likely, then others will want to follow as I dont believe the peoples of Europe want to be ruled by this overbearing bureaucracy any more than we do. Some will stick with it and hope (thats all they can do against this administration) that reform will come, but it cant without the will from within and that isnt there, so ultimately it will collapse to be replaced with a more democratic solution.
Hoplite I am sure you are a reasonable person and you believe in the EUs intentions, but being so completely negative about the UKs potential is ridiculous and seems to stem from your belief that the EU is an extremely vindictive organisation hell bent on ruining a country purely because we no longer wish to be subservient. That may be true but why would you support such a monster

Reply to  richard verney
June 29, 2016 2:32 am

You think he’s reasonable, based on this?
“English delusion knows no bounds. Economic realities will bite you in the a$$ real soon, however, and the Union Jack wrapped around you won’t protect you from them.”
It’s quite clear he hasn’t a clue what he’s talking about, and I would guess he isn’t British, so cannot know what the situation is here.

Chris 4692
Reply to  richard verney
June 29, 2016 4:30 am

Those tarrifs on German goods will be paid by the consumers in the UK through higher prices, not by the Germans.

Hoplite
Reply to  richard verney
June 29, 2016 4:31 am

‘your belief that the EU is an extremely vindictive organisation hell bent on ruining a country’
Au contraire the ruining has been very capably done by the British voters themselves. There’s nothing vindictive in the EU’s response. They have a single market and for that market to function countries must abide by certain rules (every ordered system needs rules or else there is only chaos). For what reason on God’s earth would the EU choose to ignore those critical rules and allow Britain access to the market without following the rules everyone else has to? Interpreting their stance as vindictiveness is as childish as it is wrong.
I’m Irish btw and not British. I share the concerns over the immigration issue and want to see it tackled effectively and firmly at a European level. I believe Merkel was crazy in what she said and I don’t doubt she regrets it now.

ozspeaksup
Reply to  richard verney
June 29, 2016 4:36 am

all of the EU and the uk also did their bestest evah feet shooting following the utterly stupid sanctions on russia pushed BY america..
most of them lost billions ongoing..
so this kerfuffle of huge losses etc etc over uk is all too childish to be believed
the ones who did loose? the bilderberger scum who had thought theyd got it stitched up for bremain lost bigtime
though soros the venal chappie shorted deutchbank, to profit anyway,
reckon other did also
see gold soared?
funny that

janus100
Reply to  richard verney
June 29, 2016 5:29 am

This response is to Hoplite:
“…‘Germany is very exposed and the UK ought to get a superb deal.’
English delusion knows no bounds. Economic realities will bite you in the a$$ real soon, however, and the Union Jack wrapped around you won’t protect you from them….”
Only history will judge who is delusional here. All indications right now are that EU is in panic mode.
I don’t think that Mutty Angela will survive the election as well as there might be additional defections, unless sweeping changes are made to the structure of EU.

MarkW
Reply to  richard verney
June 29, 2016 6:47 am

If you make German imports more expensive, you will at the same time make British exports more expensive.
Trade tariffs are never a good idea.

Reply to  richard verney
June 29, 2016 7:33 am

“It would be funny if it were not so very true” Indeed Canada has a Prime Minister who has never had a real job. It’s hard to understand how wealth is created when one has never created it themselves.
I am truly amazed that it could be controversial to prefer to govern yourself by the people you elect. The Brexit really highlights the ongoing creep towards tolerance to tyranny. At least this is a small step away from it.

Marcus
Reply to  richard verney
June 29, 2016 7:55 am

..President Trump and the U.S. of A. will welcome ALL new trade with the U.K. !!…FYI……I consider Trump the lesser of two evils, but he will be good for the world (little people like me) as a whole in the end !

MarkW
Reply to  richard verney
June 29, 2016 9:33 am

On the other hand Trump has threatened to unilaterally tear up all US trade agreements.

richard verney
Reply to  richard verney
June 29, 2016 10:03 am

Chris 4692 June 29, 2016 at 4:30 am: ” Those tarrifs on German goods will be paid by the consumers in the UK through higher prices, not by the Germans.”

The problem with tariffs is not simply that they make goods more expensive, often they cannot be passed onto the customer. In a global competitive market, German goods cannot easily withstand a hike in their price of 6 to 10% without significantly impacting upon sales. If German car prices were to be hiked by 10%, it may be that Germany instead of exporting £100 billion of goods to the UK annually will only export £70 billion. A loss of £30 BILLION. This will then lead to loss of employment resulting in further losses to the German exchequer (less tax receipts more welfare payments). Germany cannot afford to see that.
The UK could adopt a stance of zero tariffs and no automatic free movement of people/labour, and should you not agree we well impose say a 30% tariff (or higher) on German goods. That would price German goods out of the market and would result in Germany losing £100 billion annually. We can further say that just like the USA, we will fine VW (and all the other German car manufacturers) for the diesel emission scandal. That will incur the VW group in a loss of about £20 billion.
We know from the VW emission scandal that Germany will not take on its motor industry. The EU is pro green but it has not fined VW. It has let it get away with it.
The UK can make life very difficult for the German car industry, and their industry will put pressure on the German government.
After all, the UK simply wants zero tariffs (but with no automatic free movement) so the UK is not being unreasonable. But if the EU does not play game, then Germany is extremely exposed if the UK takes a hard nosed response to the negotiations.
PS. I am not advocating a trade war, but the commercial realities are stark. The politicians may not appreciate them but sooner or later German commercial interests will catch up with the politicians. The German car industry will ensure that a zero tariff deal is struck come what may.. The UK merely needs some good negotiators.
PPS the head winds for Germany are extremely bad since their is talk of the need for a 2 tier Euro, euro1 and euro 2. Euro 1 will be the standard currency for the stronger Northern European economies and the weaker euro 2 for the southern weaker economies. If this plan is adopted then the value of Euro 1 will strengthen, and German has been the big winner of a relatively cheap Euro. If it uses Euro 1 which strengthens above the current Euro, that will hit German exports, and being an export based economy this will be a handicap. Further Deutsche bank is in dire trouble. Indeed, the Greek bailout was not made to help Greece but to help save the European banks. it appears likely that Deutsche Bank will require a lot of injection of money from the German tax payers.
PPS. the entire EU project may implode. The position today is not likely to be the position in 2 years time.
I stand by my view that Germany is extremely exposed, and that will 9if played properly) have a big impact upon future deals to be negotiated. But we will see how it all pans out in due course.

seaice1
Reply to  richard verney
June 29, 2016 12:37 pm

The UK is 17% of the EU economy. It is estimated that Exports to UK from EU re about 15% of total EU exports. Exports from UK EU are about 46% of total UK exports. The EU is much more important to the UK than the UK is to the EU. Now who do you think is in a stronger position?
“The UK exports bout £10B into Germany, whereas Germany sells/imports into the UK about £100 billion of trade into the UK.”
Oh dear, wrong again. The UK exports $46B to Germany and imports $100B from Germany. Still an imbalance, but you are off by a factor of nearly 5. Germany exports a total of $1.5 trillion. The UK is under 7% of Germany’s exports. Significant, but nowhere near as important as the EU is to the UK. Germany is one of 27 members of the EU, the majority of whom have to agree. Germany may have more to lose than others, but they are not the final say. Exports to the rest of the EU from Germany are $300B – three times that to Britain. Now who do you think is in the strongest position – the EU or the UK?
By every measure, the UK is in the weaker position because we have more to lose from a failure than the EU does.

Steven Swinden
Reply to  richard verney
June 29, 2016 12:37 pm

‘The UK could adopt a stance of zero tariffs and no automatic free movement of people/labour, and should you not agree we well impose say a 30% tariff (or higher) on German goods.’
Richard
Some well argued pieces. However, the bit above, and comments from others. seem to epitomise the old saying:
Fog in the Channel – Europe cut off.
Think about a response to the UK imposing a 30% tariff on German goods. The Channel Tunnel closed and one ferry a week allowed into Calais.
Trade wars only lead to a reduction in activity and in living standards. Exports to the UK are approx. 10% of global German exports. A hit, but not catastrophic. Approx 48% of our exports are to the EU. The UK does not have a strong hand in the forthcoming negotiations.

Non Nomen
Reply to  richard verney
July 1, 2016 12:32 pm

Neither has Merkel realized this nor has “Adolf Schnurzpiepegal” Juncker. They are on their mental dreamboat still thinking about how to carry on. They’d rather watch the “Carry on” movies, they are closer to the world than these cloudcuckoosnest vultures.

MCourtney
Reply to  Paul Westhaver
June 29, 2016 4:33 am

Farage was embarrassing. He is not a true Englishman.
I quote Kipling,
______________________________________
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
‘ Or walk with Kings – nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!
______________________________________
He may be English.
But not a Man.

Gamecock
Reply to  MCourtney
June 29, 2016 5:16 am

So no true Englishman would support Brexit?

John Law
Reply to  MCourtney
June 29, 2016 5:39 am

Yawn!
You’re arrogance is breath-taking, you are the arbiter of Englishness, yet you want England and the rest of the UK subsumed into a Fascist Super State.
I am ready to fight you anytime for my birth right
Now crawl back under you’re stone and let us get on with fighting the climate scam!

Reply to  MCourtney
June 29, 2016 6:13 am

Yawn.

MarkW
Reply to  MCourtney
June 29, 2016 6:49 am

I believe the thinking is that no true Englishman would insult a socialist.

MCourtney
Reply to  MCourtney
June 29, 2016 8:28 am

Not at all.
This was not related to Farage’s support for Brexit. Many Labour supporters agree with him on that.
It was to do with the childish gloating in the EU Parliament.
Look at the bits I put in Bold.

MarkW
Reply to  MCourtney
June 29, 2016 9:35 am

No true Englishman gloats?
I guess there are no true Englishmen then.

roger
Reply to  MCourtney
June 29, 2016 3:29 pm

Had you seen the session in real time you would know that Junker spoke first and his first words were to Farage who was seated but a few feet to his right. He asked him why he was there and told him to leave the chamber amid much cheering from the sycophantic MEPs.
It was 20odd minutes later that Nigel delivered the speech that is videod above and he was within his rights to retaliate in the way that he did.
The malevolent concept that is the EU has nearly run it’s course and the German hegemony will eventually have to remove it’s boot from the neck of the remaining members.
Merkel went too far on the migrant situation and has sown the seeds of a final solution to this anachronistic structure.

Reply to  Paul Westhaver
June 29, 2016 9:07 am

After listening and reading to the oratory and literary skills of people like Nigel Farage and Christopher Monckton, our American Politicians seem so lame, inarticulate and simple thinkers. I think as a nation if we had less “Common Core” and “Critical Thinking” and more Aristotle and Plato we’d be much better off.

stan stendera
Reply to  Paul Jackson
June 30, 2016 11:45 pm

+1776

Non Nomen
Reply to  Paul Jackson
July 1, 2016 12:36 pm

“Aristotle and Plato”
Never saw them on TV. Baseball or soccer?

Barbara Skolaut
June 28, 2016 6:26 pm

“Brexit: Siemens Freezes New Wind Power Projects”
So Brexit is working already. What’s the downside?

climatereason
Editor
Reply to  Barbara Skolaut
June 28, 2016 11:45 pm

Britain is in urgent need of reliable sources of energy not intermittent ones such as wind power or solar. If the lights and heating are not to go off we must hope that the winter of 2016/17 is as mild as the almost record breaking one in 2015/16.Almost? 1869 was warmer.
tonyb

Reply to  Barbara Skolaut
June 29, 2016 4:45 am

LOL Barb
It’s me Ship, while RB is down….. http://oclub.1dogstar.net/cgi-bin/bb.pl

June 28, 2016 6:27 pm

Maybe the British green subsidy mine is exhausted?

June 28, 2016 6:33 pm

Reblogged this on Climatism and commented:
Siemens finally reading the not-so-feel-good tea leaves:
From previous post:
UK’s Wind Power Nightmare Hits High Farce: Having Wrecked Everything, Wind Industry Now Says ‘Britain Not Windy Enough’
After squandering billions of pounds they have seen the light, thank heavens. England’s great landscapes may be spared more futile despoliation at taxpayers’ expense.
But the turbines that already exist will stand to mock us for years to come, most of them generating scarcely enough electricity to power their manufacturers’ production lines.
There are 6,846 across Britain, plus another 15,000 private installations. Each one is a monument to the follies a government can commit when given a green flag to squander our cash.
James Delingpole’s ever-pertinent maxim once again: “Greens – Killing the Earth (and people’s lives and livelihoods) to ‘save’ it.”
https://climatism.wordpress.com/2016/06/16/uks-wind-power-nightmare-hits-high-farce-having-wrecked-everything-wind-industry-now-says-britain-not-windy-enough/

1saveenergy
Reply to  Climatism
June 29, 2016 8:07 am

See your local Windfarm instantaneous output on this interactive Europe wide map
http://rwe-renewableslive.com/#/map/EU
(Shows
– live production in MW ( A minus figure indicates they are drawing from the grid to power the turbines.)
– Installed capacity in MW (nameplate)
– Graph of last 24 hrs
UK’s Windfarms list + other ‘green’ energy sites.
This Interactive map http://www.variablepitch.co.uk/stations/map/ (site is a bit slow)
More details – http://www.variablepitch.co.uk/
gives – Location, Capacity, Actual output, Capacity factor, Tariff details & Income for each site.

brians356
Reply to  Climatism
June 29, 2016 11:40 am

If Britain ain’t windy enough, pray tell where then? Just where do these windmill floggers intend to find enough consistent wind to have them pay for themselves (sans subsidies)?

1saveenergy
Reply to  brians356
June 29, 2016 1:48 pm

West coast of Ireland, North Scotland, Southern Siberia, Mongolia, Aleutian Islands, The south island of New Zealand, Mt Everest, Antarctica, bottom ¼ of South America, is where they will work consistently…. all you have to do ts persuade people & company’s to move there, I’m sure the greens will be selling up & moving there any day soon.

Janice Moore
June 28, 2016 6:44 pm

Siemens is putting new wind power investment plans in the UK on hold …

Sounds TERRIFIC!
“Truman Show” — final scene

(youtube)
“Siemens”: You’re afraid. That’s why you can’t leave. … You can’t leave, “Brit.”
[Oooo, no more windmills for you — think about THAT (lolololo). Yes, indeed, think about that — hooray!]
[The whole world is watching you.]
Cease transmission.”
And the free WORLD IS CHEERING YOU ON!
Go, Brits, GO!!! The real world IS “out.” Outside the EU with its simulated climate paradigm. Your handlers will try to make you afraid. “The future of the youth is being ruined!” they will shriek (and the like).
Take a bow, Brit …
smile,
and…
leave!
**************************
Yup. People who like socialism like rules. Rules make them feel safe. Courage, dear timid ones — follow your brave, wise, elders to freedom!
Whoo, hooooooooo! FREEDOM ROCKS!
#(:))
#(:))
#(:))

Marcus
Reply to  Janice Moore
June 29, 2016 10:33 am

…Well, that was the worst video I have ever wasted my time on….can I get a refund ?

Janice Moore
Reply to  Marcus
June 29, 2016 6:40 pm

Okay, Marcus. But, even if you thought it was boring (or whatever), DID YOU (did anyone??) GET MY POINT? Sigh. I think no one did.

stan stendera
Reply to  Janice Moore
June 30, 2016 11:50 pm

I get your point and I think the Truman Show is a great movie as I’m sure you do.

Janice Moore
Reply to  stan stendera
July 2, 2016 3:04 pm

Stan! Oh, what a happy surprise — that SOMEONE understood me! Yay. I only came back here, just now, thinking about what Marcus wrote, to say that I think one would need to have watched the movie to get it.
And you have. And, yes, I would not want to watch it again, but VERY good movie (well, I would watch it with a friend who had not seen it and that would be fun — I — would — not — breathe — a hint … (smile)).
Thank you for taking the time to tell me!

Ross King
June 28, 2016 6:46 pm

Glory be! The promoters of a self-serving pig at he profit-driven trough of gullible government and a gullible (and brain-washed mass of voters) now get their come-uppance.
Hooray for Common-Sense.

Evan Jones
Editor
June 28, 2016 6:53 pm

Surprised. Amused.
He hit the Duma with a Parliamentary barrage.

TA
June 28, 2016 6:59 pm

Windmills should be banned.
Our feathered friends will thank us for it.
The natural beauty of our landscapes will be preserved.
Windmills are a bad mistake that needs correcting, before things are made even worse.

Simon
Reply to  Eric Worrall
June 28, 2016 11:15 pm

May change nothing in your mind, but makes the point that all forms of energy comes with risk and oil is at the very least a serious threat to the environment. Exxon Valdez anyone?

richard verney
Reply to  Eric Worrall
June 29, 2016 12:41 am

I have been involved in a lot of oil spills; the evidence suggests that they do very little long term ecological harm. It is after all a natural product, and nature can break it down. The forces of nature at sea are particularly adept at doing this.
That said, of course all forms of en come with risk, but the real problem with wind is that it is neither green, nor does it result in the reduction of any significant quantities of CO2 emissions (because of the intermittent and non despatchable nature of wind and the resulting need for 100% backup from conventionally powered generation). Whatever one’s views on CO2 the inescapable fact is that windmill/windturbines do not significantly reduce CO2 and thus fail on their primary objective.

Patrick MJD
Reply to  Eric Worrall
June 29, 2016 2:04 am

Canadian oil sands, a natural oil spill and with human ingenuity, it’s being cleaned up.

Simon
Reply to  Eric Worrall
June 29, 2016 3:23 am

“the evidence suggests that they do very little long term ecological harm.” What a complete load of BS. The last hundred years has seen many ecological disasters caused by oil spills. Just because it eventually breaks down doesn’t mean it is not devastating to wildlife and the communities that rely on harvesting the ocean. Give me a break. There is nothing good about an oil spill. Nothing.

Patrick MJD
Reply to  Eric Worrall
June 29, 2016 3:36 am

“Simon June 29, 2016 at 3:23 am”
Show your evidence.

MarkW
Reply to  Eric Worrall
June 29, 2016 6:53 am

Exxon Valdez was a minor blip. The clean up effort did way more ecological damage than the oil spill did.
I should remind you that it was the idiotic environmentalists who blocked a pipeline from Valdez to the rest of the US that would have made shipping the oil unnecessary.
Oil has been leaking into the environment for millions of years. There are entire branches of micro-biology that have evolved to feed on it.

MarkW
Reply to  Eric Worrall
June 29, 2016 6:54 am

Simon, just because your handlers have told you to believe something, does not make it true.

Simon
Reply to  Eric Worrall
June 29, 2016 12:02 pm

Patrick MJD June 29, 2016 at 3:36 am
“Simon June 29, 2016 at 3:23 am”
Here’s my comprehensive breakdown.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill#Environmental_impact
Your turn? Provide a (reputable) link that the environmental impact from a serious oil spill is anything but a complete disaster for the life that lives in the area? Otherwise you are just blowing hot air…. and we don’t need any more of that.

Ian Macdonald
Reply to  Eric Worrall
June 29, 2016 1:07 pm

“Just because it eventually breaks down doesn’t mean it is not devastating to wildlife and the communities that rely on harvesting the ocean. ”
Depends on the oil grade. Heavy tar is extremely damaging and long lasting, the lighter fractions less so. Often, the ‘bunker oil’ ship’s fuel is the most damaging component, although of course it is smaller in quantity than the cargo.
The main issue with these shipwrecks is that the tankers take routes close to land in order to minimize journey time. If the ship suffers an engine or steering failure near to land, it may be impossible to get a tug to it in time. The solution is to stop the tankers taking such routes.
(BTW yes I do know what I’m talking about, I was on the IT support team for one such investigation, and got to speak to some of the tanker captains present. They underlined commercial pressures to take shortcut routes as the main issue, combined with substandard equipment on some ‘flag of convenience’ vessels.)

Janice Moore
Reply to  brandonrgates
June 29, 2016 8:11 am

Oooo, a pro-Envirostalinist troll (Gates) has showed up to try to frighten us with a big scary photo.
Didn’t work.

Even with this [4/20/10 Gulf] blowout and its 1969 Santa Barbara predecessor, America’s offshore record is excellent. Since 1969, we have drilled over 1,224,00 wells in state waters and on the Outer Continental Shelf. There have been 13 losses of well control involving more than 50 barrels: five were less than 100 barrels apiece; one was a little over 1,000 barrels; two (both in 1970) involved 30,000 barrels or more. … What should we do …? Recognize that life, technology and civilization involve risks.

(Source: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/05/09/lessons-from-the-gulf-blowout/ ; see also: http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/05/01/the-gulf-oil-rig-explosion-on-the-scene-photos/ (comment thread) )
The benefits to humanity of petroleum fuel (which socialists, ABSOLUTE HYPOCRITES, say they care about) far outweigh the costs.
*****************************
Nope. Troll Gates, the UK is leaving Envirostalinland. So! “Good afternoon, good evening, and… GOOD NIGHT!”
And… walking… with chins held high, … leaving… …. …
and … they… are…
OUTTA THERE!
Go, United Kingdom!!!
#(:))

1saveenergy
Reply to  Janice Moore
June 29, 2016 8:56 am

“And… walking… with chins held high, …”
….maybe over the edge of a cliff !! …time will tell.
Both main (corrupt) political parties are tearing them selves apart (a good thing).
The far right / neo-Nazis now believe they have a mandate & have already started intimidation & violence to anyone they perceive to be foreign (a bad thing).
Cost of living will rise because it can be blamed on ‘brexit’ & minority’s.
A fine orator will galvanize the faithful, the’ silent majority’ will keep their heads down & mouths shut. (as with CAGW )
I see many parallels with 1930s Germany…& we all know what happened next.
Strange how we keep doing the same thing & expect a different result. #(:-((

Janice Moore
Reply to  Janice Moore
June 29, 2016 9:40 am

Dear, worried, 1save,
You need to go back and read your history of post-WWI Germany and a lot of other books, too.
— Inflation in Germany was through the roof – not so, in the UK today.
— Germany’s citizens were very, very, poor – not so, in the UK, today.
— Anti-semitism had infected the brains of the majority of Germans – not the case in the UK, today.
— The congenital drive of Germans to rule the world is not present in the average UK citizen.
And on and on.
Re: cost of living – that is not determined by politicians in a free society like the UK. Your fear that it will “rise because it can be blamed on” is nonsense. Cost of living is a function of supply and demand. COST OF POWER is a main component, thus, free of the economy-choking windmill and solar chains of the EU, the UK’s economy should start to grow.
You are so afraid, 1save… . Start thinking. Ask yourself (and really, really think about it): “Why am I so frightened of liberty?”
(and you might also ask yourself where you got the silly notion that to “save energy” is a good thing)
Courage!
Janice

1saveenergy
Reply to  Janice Moore
June 30, 2016 4:53 pm

Dear Janice,
Thank you, so much, for taking the time to instruct me in the history of post-WWI Germany & of the UK as it is today, plus the advice to ‘really, really think about’ things (I’d never have thought about doing that without your erudite counsel); Last night, I lay in bed tossing & turning ( well, I saved the turning for on the lathe in the morning) whilst ruminating on your latest misinformed missive.
From my post – [I see many parallels with 1930s Germany…& we all know what happened next. ]
You say “Inflation in Germany was through the roof” –
Germanys hyperinflation was actually in the 1920s. It was the1930/31 deflation & banking collapse that lead to a mass political change & the subsequent recovery in the mid 1930s with all it brought. Suggested reading:
Economics and Politics in the Weimar Republic. T. Balderston, (2002).
The Coming of the Third Reich. R. Evans, (2003).
When Money Dies: The Nightmare of the Weimar Hyper-Inflation. A. Fergusson, (1975).
A Social History of Western Europe, 1880-1980 By Hartmut Kaelble (1990)
You say “The congenital drive of Germans to rule the world”
Have you no idea what the American government & companies get up to around the world !!
See Luke 6:41
As you said elsewhere, you’ve never set foot in UK so how would you know how our economy works, you obviously have no idea the UK’s ‘green power’ fiasco is home grown. Read the 2008 climate change bill.
The cost of living IS determined by politicians, they set the fiscal framework that the country works to, market forces work within (or around … if they can get away with it) that framework. Read some books on economics.
You mention “Anti-Semitism”, just substitute that with ‘anti-Islamic’ or with the more extreme right wing groups, anyone who can’t trace British ancestry of 100yrs.
Even I’m shocked at the number of incidents of xenophobic abuse directed at minorities since Brexit
You say “(and you might also ask yourself where you got the silly notion that to “save energy” is a good thing)”
I did & found I got that notion from observing stupid Americans who think they have a ‘god given right’ to consume anything & everything to achieve ‘The American Dream’ & often throw in a bible quote to justify it.
Take oil; on average, every US citizen consumes 22.4 barrels per year almost three times that of a European citizen (7.95 barrels per year), more than 8 times the consumption of a Chinese citizen (2.78 barrels per year), more than twenty times the consumption an Indian citizen (1.1 barrel per year) [Source: 2015 World Oil & Gas Review]
Americans also consume per capita –
3x world average of meat, https://data.oecd.org/agroutput/meat-consumption.htm
6x world average of plastic http://www.pardos-marketing.com/paper_h04.htm
Electricity- 2.5x more than a Brit, http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.USE.ELEC.KH.PC
And on and on. See Ezekiel 16:49
Janice, I humbly suggest you spend more time reading & assimilating history books & less time practicing puerile pomposity.
I confess to having broken this rule – Proverbs 26:4 – but it was fun !!
I remain, your obedient servant, I saveenergy.

simple-touriste
June 28, 2016 7:05 pm

“I am not suggesting climate was the core issue for most Brexit voters, though I suspect it played a part”
Not specifically climate science, it’s epistemology in general.
And yes, I know many brexiters couldn’t even explain epistemology means, they may care about epistemology, because they are decent people.

mwh
Reply to  simple-touriste
June 29, 2016 1:57 am

I doubt you could explain to me mycorrhizal symbiosis, but you might care about mycorrhizal symbiosis because you are ‘decent people’.
Seeing as you are talking about the theory of knowledge you have actually produced a fairly circular self defeating argument there!

simple-touriste
Reply to  mwh
June 29, 2016 2:19 am

WHAT?

mwh
Reply to  mwh
June 29, 2016 3:06 am

exactly my reaction on reading your post! BTW I am only commenting on the WTF factor – not trying to be offensive

MarkW
Reply to  mwh
June 29, 2016 6:56 am

I’m guessing that mwh doesn’t know what epistemology is either.

simple-touriste
Reply to  mwh
June 29, 2016 6:31 pm

You don’t need to be able to spell W-A-T-E-R to know it’s wet.

June 28, 2016 7:20 pm

After Brexit, the good news starts rolling in…

June 28, 2016 7:25 pm

Reblogged this on Patti Kellar and commented:
“To put it another way, people who are one or two paycheques away from homelessness have no time for politicians who promise to make their energy bills skyrocket, if someone makes the effort to offer them an alternative.”

June 28, 2016 7:46 pm

Good! Let’s hope that wind power projects will be frozen around the world. They are “unsustainable” to use the green power quotes…

Reply to  J. Philip Peterson
June 28, 2016 9:38 pm

The Asian Development Bank requires a REAL rate of economic return of 12% on water supply, sanitation, solid waste projects for projects that are not self-financing, which none are.
But subsidized wind and solar and biofuel projects are self-financing.
If a consulting firm does not demonstrate the feasibility of a project, they risk not getting paid.

commieBob
Reply to  Frederick Colbourne
June 28, 2016 10:49 pm

But subsidized wind and solar and biofuel projects are self-financing.

Wha????

Asp
June 28, 2016 7:46 pm

Siemens shoots itself in the foot, as a sign of displeasure regarding the Brexit vote!

Reply to  Asp
June 29, 2016 9:40 am

Siemens shoots itself in the foot, as a sign of displeasure regarding the Brexit vote!

I have noticed that all of a sudden I have seem wind turbine masts heading north on US25 on my way to work in the morning all week, so it looks like GE is doing some work. I’m sure they’d be more that happy to help the Brits out as well.

June 28, 2016 8:17 pm

My blog is one of Theology and Volunteering but I randomly learned how to search the most popular blogs on wordpress.
What I found was the top ones are all coming out of subjects about Brexit.
This is really something the world is curious about. I know as someone in Canada we are watching with very curious eyes.
The number #1 and number #2 blogs are just swamped after a single post on the subject. The number #2 had to even close her blog for the amount of emails and comments she was receiving!
I really hope this works out positively for the people within the UK.
This is a tense moment for sure.

Eugene WR Gallun
June 28, 2016 9:09 pm

Green companies live off government subsidies and without subsidies Green company will suddenly cease to exist. Will subsidies continue and if so how large will they be?. It will be interesting to see who starts dumping their stocks BEFORE questions about subsidies are answered. Smart investors will be getting out now because the Loss Risk is too great.
Eugene WR Gallun

AndyG55
Reply to  Eugene WR Gallun
June 28, 2016 9:54 pm

PEAK RENEWABLES…
as soon as the subsidies are removed.
Then they break, maintenance stops and the renewables are no longer renewed.
And who will tidy up the mess? The taxpayer, of course, because the scammers who took all those subsidies will have syphoned them all off to the Caymans

Steve Fraser
Reply to  AndyG55
June 29, 2016 10:03 am

I might pay 100 for a salvaged 2MW turbine…

AGW is not Science
Reply to  Eugene WR Gallun
June 29, 2016 7:42 am

I’m sure the politically connected will have their money out just before the subsidy gravy train is stopped – and that they of course will escape any “insider trading” charges to boot! Sort of the opposite end of Gore walking out smiling after he convinced “Dubya” to essentially outlaw the incandescent light bulb, with Gore’s “investment” in manufacturers of crappy CFL light bulbs nobody otherwise wanted undoubtedly already in hand.

June 28, 2016 9:28 pm

I read somewhere recently the Brits were giving up on wind power.

indefatigablefrog
Reply to  Eric Worrall
June 28, 2016 10:18 pm

The greens promised politicians that if they poured massive subsidies into off-shore wind then costs would rapidly fall to parity with conventional generation. Such that subsidies could be removed. So-called “priming the pump”. However, no pump was being primed. This was simply a ruse to shift vast amounts of public money into private hands.
However, naturally politicians did expect these economies of scale to progressively kick in.
Some more savvy representatives of the people did not anticipate subsidizing turbines forever. And so the March budget made some demands that future subsidies are reduced.
Since the pretended economies of scale have not had such a fabulous effect in reality, then if dramatic reductions in subsidy are put into effect then most future off-shore wind expansion would be uneconomical and will not occur.
Putting wind turbines in the middle of the sea was always a daft and expensive thing to be doing.
When the free money stops – it stops.
Current subsidy prices work out at about three times the usual wholesale electricity price – as far as I can determine.
So we pay three times as much for an energy source that is totally unreliable and can not provide the energy we need as and when we need it.
Let’s hope that the money and enthusiasm for this nonsense run out at some point soon.

Reply to  joedelman13
June 29, 2016 4:38 am

Many Brits refer to the windmills as “prayer wheels.”

indefatigablefrog
June 28, 2016 10:07 pm

There may be an altogether different reason for this waning of interest:
Quoting from link below – [Shortly after the decision was announced in the budget, Chris Willow, an associate director at BVG Associates, said the budget statement contained some long-anticipated clarity on the support offshore wind can expect to receive in the next decade but also revealed a stark reality for the UK offshore wind industry – it has until the middle of the 2020s to reach cost parity with combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGTs).
“For projects being commissioned in 2021, the government has capped the strike price for a contract for difference (CFD) at £105/MWh. Our modelling suggests this is equivalent to a levelised cost of energy (LCOE) of £97 to £100/MWh, depending on factors such as project lifetime and the cost of capital. For projects being commissioned in 2026, the strike price falls to £85/MWh, which is equivalent to an LCOE of £80 to £82/MWh. Note that all these costs are in 2011/12 prices,” he explained.
“This level of support shows the government is pushing the industry to go beyond its previous expectations of what could be achieved. In the 2012 Offshore Wind Cost Reduction Pathways Study, The Crown Estate said the industry should reach an LCOE of £100/MWh for projects reaching final investment decision (FID) in 2020 if it had confidence in a market of sufficient volume.”]
More at: http://www.owjonline.com/news/view,budget-sets-course-for-offshore-wind-to-be-subsidy-free-in-a-decade_42495.htm

indefatigablefrog
June 28, 2016 10:33 pm

Unsurprisingly Siemens would like us all to embrace a completely new and revolutionary analysis for working out how much their products cost.
YES – you too can be bamboozled into believing that Siemens products are much cheaper than the money spent on them over the course of their lifetime.
Forget boring old regular pricing and use the new Siemens cost calculation where interestingly Siemens renewable products suddenly appear to be an attractive and competitive alternative.
Never has selling expensive stuff to idiots been easier than with the new Siemens cost calculator.
You might imagine that I joking. But I just found this brochure which is recommending exactly that:
http://www.energy.siemens.com/hq/pool/hq/power-generation/renewables/wind-power/SCOE/Infoblatt-what-is-the-real-cost-of-offshore.pdf

Crispin in Waterloo
June 28, 2016 10:40 pm

About the loss of 1000 jobs: restart the power stations and bring back the steel industry, one of the oldest and finest in the world. Very high quality steel for things as simple as trowels comes from the UK because of the skill needed to make it. There are a lot more jobs in steel than in windmill blades. Plus, the steel industry pays taxes and the wind industry absorbs them.

Reply to  Crispin in Waterloo
June 28, 2016 11:19 pm

+ many ( I believe the same thing could be said for Ontario!. The scenario played out there is eerily similar to Britain.

Reply to  asybot
June 29, 2016 1:08 pm

+ many more as Ontario is slowly infecting the rest of the country …

billbedford
Reply to  Crispin in Waterloo
June 29, 2016 7:06 am

The high tech end of the UK steel industry is alive and well and living in Sheffield. It’s low end, high volume steel production that Britain can’t compete with, all for good historical geographical as well as economic reasons.

indefatigablefrog
June 28, 2016 11:00 pm

And an interesting study here, of the expected costs of a variety of off-shore wind technologies.
It looks at the impact of factors such as number of turbines in an array, distance to shore and depth of water. It seems that no matter what configuration is used – even those with the best expectations come in at over 120euros/MWh. And the most expensive configurations were upward of 250euro/MWh.
Expect the 250euro arrangement to be deployed on a coast near you soon.
Politicians have a keen talent for picking the most expensive item on the menu.
And note that Portugal already installed a 2MW turbine with a “complex and steel-intensive sub-structure with a mass of about 2500 tons”. So anything is possible. No matter how dumb!!!
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148114000469

June 29, 2016 12:19 am

how long is Eric Worrall going to be a “guest”?

Hoplite
Reply to  chaamjamal
June 29, 2016 12:35 am

Agreed. He is one of the poorer contributors here.

richard verney
Reply to  Hoplite
June 29, 2016 12:46 am

On the contrary, this is an interesting article (although I prefer the science articles to the politics).

David A
Reply to  Hoplite
June 29, 2016 1:02 am

Hoplite, another comment with zero substance.

Reply to  Hoplite
June 29, 2016 2:34 am

Yet another absurd comment from Hoplite! Eric Worrall is appreciated by very many of us, so LEAVE if you aren’t happy.

Hoplite
Reply to  Hoplite
June 29, 2016 4:37 am

Bazzer – ‘so LEAVE if you aren’t happy’ – bind and blind. Read Jonathan Haidt’s The Righteous Mind you seem to be well down that road of blinkered groupthink.

Reply to  Hoplite
June 29, 2016 6:12 am

Hoplite, I hope you get all that you want for Christmas.

MarkW
Reply to  Hoplite
June 29, 2016 7:00 am

Hoplite’s jealous.

Reply to  Hoplite
June 29, 2016 1:10 pm

C&H: You fellows know how to use the back button and read a different author/article, right? Or skip comments?
Maybe not.

1saveenergy
Reply to  chaamjamal
June 29, 2016 12:45 am

Your “guest” is as good as mine…..but he’s very welcome.

mikewaite
Reply to  chaamjamal
June 29, 2016 3:58 am

For as long as it takes

June 29, 2016 12:51 am

Hoplite June 29, 2016 at 12:21 am
Our stack exchange index, the FTSE is, today, currently higher that it was 1 month ago, 3 months ago at 12 months ago.
The initial falls were just speculators taking a profit or covering losses from a wrong guess on BREXIT.
The UK pound movement cause our exports to be cheaper, sounds good to me and many others in the real world.
It means our holidays abroad will be slightly more expensive but you can not have everything.
Looking at the pound/USD it is still no worse (for who?) than 5 years ago.
Exchange rate do move all the time.

climatereason
Editor
Reply to  steverichards1984
June 29, 2016 1:21 am

Lets give the current financial turmoil some historic context..
This first link shows the FTSE since its inception in 1984
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/ftse100/10544527/FTSE-100-celebrates-30th-birthday.html
Its around 6150 today. The highs and lows are noted. The low point in the last five or six years was only 3500 in 2009. However it had been slightly lower than that around 2003. It looks like it has been on a roller coaster ride and it is only if dividends are reinvested that any profit will be shown over a 20 year investment horizon.
The bounce yesterday might prove to be a dead cat one as people take their profits. It is only when it starts to get down to around 3500 I will start to worry
As for the dollar, here is a historical chart since 1915 when it was around 5 dollars to a pound .
http://www.miketodd.net/encyc/dollhist.htm
The catastrophic falls around 1977 and 1985 show up well, although again the pound has risen and fallen sharply many times since then, but is on an overall decline. When I got my first job around 1970 it was some 2.50 to the pound, with almost parity in 1985.
The loss of a few cents over the last few days is neither here nor there when it has declined some 70% from its historical peak and is only half what it was worth when i started working.
Its far too early yet to see if this is a blip or the start of a real financial crisis.
tonyb

Reply to  climatereason
June 29, 2016 2:39 am

As I write, the FTSE is 6,263 – actually going back to where it’s been since March.

Hoplite
Reply to  steverichards1984
June 29, 2016 4:38 am

FTSE is really an international metric. FTSE250 is the one more accurately measuring the UK economy.

Reply to  Hoplite
June 29, 2016 10:59 am

FTSE250 UP to 16,000 – same as it was on June 16th.

indefatigablefrog
Reply to  steverichards1984
June 29, 2016 12:12 pm

Pound down due to speculative expectation of usual QE response.
Interest rate already near zero – therefore QE only response available.
More GBP in circulation means devaluation of value of GBP.
Essentially, Osborne warned/explained that this would be the response/excuse upon Brexit.
So, speculators factored that in and were ahead of the curve when the election betting went past even odds to Brexit as favourite at 2.30a.m.
i.e. this was a response to expected policy of the BoE, not a vote on confidence in the UK economy.
They were correct of course, because the following morning Carney announced £250billion of available “support” i.e. more made up money to flood the system and devalue the currency.

June 29, 2016 1:10 am

After Brexit the poor will still be poor, the rich will still be rich, the immigrants will still be arriving en masse. But we will be an independent nation once again. Glory be and hallelujah.

Griff
Reply to  Mario Martini
June 29, 2016 6:11 am

Yes… for that abstract idea, we massively damage our economy for months if not years.
I fail to see why that is good…

MarkW
Reply to  Griff
June 29, 2016 7:05 am

Notice how socialists discount the idea of freedom.
PS: The claims that Britain has damaged their economy are often made, but never proven.

wolfho
June 29, 2016 2:07 am

60+ Brits: Finally we’re free!!
Rest of the Brits: Holy shit why didnt we stop this.
Investors: Forget England until they fix their trades within EU
Rest of the World: *facepalm*

Patrick MJD
Reply to  wolfho
June 29, 2016 2:33 am

China and India, the rest of the world as you put it, will not care one dime! Personally, having seen the damage the unelected in the EU inflicted on the UK since 1973, I say good riddance to the EU.
And, since the EU imposes restrictions and quotas etc on various countries in the “Union” we see milk lakes, meat mountains, butter mountains, food mountains most of which go to waste while millions go hungry!

wolfho
Reply to  Patrick MJD
June 29, 2016 2:38 am

UK making a mess of themselves is okay because:
China
India
EU
??
Higher taxes, Higher tariffs, Lower spending, still open borders if they want trade in EU. How is this in any way a good idea?

Reply to  Patrick MJD
June 29, 2016 2:43 am

wolfho, do you live here, in Britain? I say that because we will now have £1.1 BILLION A MONTH to spend as we wish. We can carry on funding those projects that were funded by the EU (with our money!) and still have £706 million a month to spend. The pound will be lower, helping exports, and imports will be cheaper if we remove trade barriers. We don’t actually need to trade with the EU as much as they need to trade with us, so we certainly don’t have ‘open borders’!

Patrick MJD
Reply to  Patrick MJD
June 29, 2016 3:03 am

“wolfho June 29, 2016 at 2:38 am
UK making a mess of themselves is okay because:”
Nope! Just left leaning alarmist media are making a mountain out of a molehill and the EU reacting like a petulant child. Yes, over 40 years of EU bullcarp will have to be removed from the UK. And I say, if Norway and Switzerland can operate quite well without being in the EU, then so too can the UK, as she was before 1973.

wolfho
Reply to  Patrick MJD
June 29, 2016 3:15 am

“I say that because we will now have £1.1 BILLION A MONTH to spend as we wish”
You know Farage reclaimed that figure afterwards right? After the vote was passed “oh yeah the number I claimed was a mistake”

Patrick MJD
Reply to  Patrick MJD
June 29, 2016 3:29 am

“wolfho June 29, 2016 at 3:15 am”
Too funny. YouTube (YT) videos lol. I am working on a project here in Australia with someone who values YT videos as “truth”. He quoted a client, totally out of my control, with what the person said in the YT video as the cost of some software. And that “price” was quoted and submitted to the client. He war so wrong you would not believe. Damage done!

Ex-expat Colin
Reply to  Patrick MJD
June 29, 2016 3:37 am

The way UK NHS procurement works is that its likely £350m would get a couple of beds, pillows and a beaker/mug. Then there is PFI payments, so anything thrown at the International NHS won’t go far at all. Mainly trousered!

mwh
Reply to  Patrick MJD
June 29, 2016 3:54 am

wolfho – maths not your strong point then?

Reply to  Patrick MJD
June 30, 2016 4:19 am

Neither are his skills of comprehension…Farage didn’t say that, as he says on the video. But wolfho is intellectually-crippled.

Reply to  wolfho
June 29, 2016 6:09 am

wolfho, as you can’t do maths, the £350 million a week quoted was the total UK contribution before the rebate. However, I CAN do maths, and my fugure of £1.1 billion was AFTER the rebate. Try using a calculator, mate. We REALLY will have £1.1 billion a month to spend – that was going to the EU. If we carry on paying for projects that were covered (so still covering them, like payments to Cornwall etc.) then we will STILL have over £700 million a month to spend!

climatereason
Editor
Reply to  bazzer1959
June 29, 2016 7:31 am

bazzer
Its worse than that though as there is the cost of compliance with EU rules whether you trade with them or not. This covers all sorts of things but in particular emissions trading, financial and farming. Some of these are highly desirable anyway, some not. From some we get a positive financial advantage, others we do not.
Total cost of compliance taking everything into account is said to something around £20 billion for UK businesses and other organisations
tonyb

Reply to  bazzer1959
June 29, 2016 10:55 am

Great, so more money saved then. If the downward export trade to the EU continues at the rate it’s been going for some years, the UK won’t be exporting anything to the EU within 30 years, and everything to the rest of the world.

Reply to  wolfho
June 29, 2016 1:15 pm

Wlfho: Sorry – rest of the world outside of the EU — Ho-hum ….
SNAFU
Personal observation: EEC – good. EU – bad.

observa
Reply to  wolfho
June 29, 2016 8:34 pm
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