Letter: Why help India if it can afford a space programme?
Wednesday 5th January 2011, 6:00AM GMT.
Letter: Just as I was starting to enjoy Christmas I received my bill from E.ON, my gas and electricity supplier.
It has jumped more than 23 per cent from £90 per month to £122 per month. Medical conditions make it necessary in my household to maintain a standard of heating a little higher than normal. The question of higher costs, I ask, is why?
Perhaps someone in authority can explain why British Gas made a profit last year of £595 million and E.ON stated the UK was its star performer last year and allowed it to make £3.7 billion profit. My wife’s NI pension income, after working for the mandatory 44 years and paying full contributions, is swallowed up by heating costs.
We are most fortunate to learn that despite our homegrown financial problems we are still able to extend our financial arm of friendship to other financially distressed countries.
Let’s help China put a man on the moon; no worries, only costs £40 million.
The Ugandan president needs £35 million to buy a new Lear Jet? No problem.
Dear old India, £825 million for future business development. Sounds good, they can then charge us for services. They have bought our motor vehicle and steel industries. We gave them the money to do that.
Kraft bought Cadbury with money lent by UK banks, while they were not lending to UK businesses.
As we speak we are huddled around our burning candle observing the jet stream from a passing aircraft while debating whether to eat an onion bhaji or bacon sandwich to enable us to support foreign enterprise. Surely it must now be time for the UK to get real. We need help, now.
Ron Plenderleith
Leegomery
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While I agree with Mr Plenderleith about the lunacy of the majority of UK overseas aid, and especially the fact that it’s been been ring-fenced at a time when when all other government spending is faced with massive cuts, I fail to see the relevance of it to his gas and electricity bill. I read the article expecting to find that Eon had made some massive donation to overseas development projects, but this doesn’t appear to be the case.
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I agree with Mr Plenderleith, if the UK is in so much debt then why give our money to foreign countries when we should be using it to settle the national debt.
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I fail to see the conneciton between his E.ON bill and foreign aid? The Government does not pay energy bills so the 2 are completely unconnected.
India has more people living in poverty than sub-Saharan Africa, and that’s real poverty where people are starving. So I think they probably are desrving of a little help and in the scheme of the UK Government budget £850m is a pittance.
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I think the figures need to be checked, according to google the total uk aid budget for 2011 is in the region of £7.7 Billion?
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I am sorry if Rob and Andrew did not quite get the point of my letter.
E On is the holding company of the world’s largest energy company that last year made over £3.5 billion pounds by over charging UK customers for energy, it has its HQ in Dusseldorf Germany.
Centra is the major company behind the trade name Brit Gas and their CE Mr Sam Laidlaw has a current annual salary of £1.5 million.
India although finnacing the worlds third largest army and is able to launch space probes still receives financial help from the UK.
When did the UK last launch a space probe and did we not rcently make plans to reduce our military to such a level we are a laughing stock.Do we in the UK not owe so much money that it is not possible to calculate the amount.
The UK pensioner receives the lowest annual pension after 44 years NI contributions in the western world and yet they are expected to contribute to these companies and countries.
Two of the UK’s largest banks now 3/4 owned by these same pensioners are giving advantagious interest loans to companies outside the UK to purchase and close UK factories.
My letter was to point out what a totally unfair system this was. Surely government action should be taken to control energy prices as is done in other countries and taxes should be raised on banks and companies making obscene profits on the backs of UK pensioners.
Finally having lived in some of these countries that receive our cash aid and seen how and on what it was spent I could weep to hear and see how naive some of our UK citizens are.
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Yet thousands of our own elderly folk die of cold related illness every winter. – All financial aid to India must be stopped now.
Charity begins at home.
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Nelson
You can look at these things locally, regionally, nationally or internationally. I do so hope that should you or yours be in a time of need others do not take such a narrow minded and selfish attitude. A comparison would be: Nelson’s drowning. So what, he can afford swimming lessons!
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I don’t think it is a narrow minded attitude, just more that people are fed up of struggling to pay bills and keep warm, all the time being told that the country is in so much debt, only then to hear that we as a country are donating and allowing donations of millions to other less fortunate countries. I think there is a point to be taken here that maybe we ought to sort our own debt out first before trying to sort everyone else’s debt. Once our financial situation is back on track, then we can start helping elsewhere.
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I think the writer of the original letter has a very valid point.
The current government is busy instigating severe cuts to public spending, and thus, to public services, yet, somehow manage to find billions to give away to other countries.
The utilities were sold off by “that bloody woman” for peanuts, after being paid for over the years by YOU, the customer. Now in private hands, they pay obscene salaries, post massive annual profits, yet those who make this possible are hit by spending cuts.
There should be some legislation put in place to regulate the prices of essential services. People die in the UK each winter from the cold, and I hardly think this is acceptable when our your inept government is dishing out cash to other countries as though it were going out of fashion.
Charity does indeed begin at home, unless, of course you happen to be a member of the government.
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