Liberal Conspiracy is helping Compass to spearhead a call for a windfall tax on energy companies. Apparently they are making far too much money and we want a piece of that pie. The article itself says...

Yet despite the billions made in profits, the energy industry spends just £50 million a year combating fuel poverty and has only agreed to raise this to £150 million a year by 2010. But every 10% increase in energy prices mean an extra 400,000 people go into fuel poverty.

I'm afraid that "we" don't all agree with this kind of thinking and feel very cautious about a windfall tax.

I've said it before, we don't need quick fixes we need absolute change in the strategy for trading energy.

It was suggested last week that one solution to the issue of music being shared illegally, among other such as making ISPs taking more responsibility for what activities their customers do, is to charge a levy or tax on internet use and let us do whatever the hell we like.

I said I'd write about it, so I will. I generally don't like this perception (and argument) that is utilised by all spectrums of political blogs, the idea that because democracy costs money we should keep a reign on it. Recess Monkey is one of the latest to do this, predictably in response to his parties quite shameful voting over expenses.

Continuing with my theme of highlighting when I'm actually impressed with Labour, given how little it has happened in the last year, I am happy to say that I'm actually glad for once that Caroline Flint has opened her gob. Usually all that falls out of it is garbage, but when it comes to rent then buy schemes she wants to set up finally there could be something at least resembling roses flowing instead.

Unfortunately with every silver lining there must be a thunderstorm of moronic proportions. Undoing any shred of good work that she started at the beginning of the week, Jacqui Smith has gone back in to nasty mode in such a way that surely the Tory old guard must be blushing.

And while we're at it why don't we throw in the fact that the Lib Dem's have announced their own strategy to tackle youth crime, one that looks like a pantheon of saintly forgiveness compared to the now fleshed out policies of Smith.

Jennie has posted a few times now on Liberal Conspiracy about thinking along the same lines as me, and has linked to me a couple of times, so here is a return of favour under similar circumstances. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation says we need at least £13,400 each to simply live and be above poverty. Jennie, on the other hand, contests this amount as ludicrously high when taking in to account the wider picture of global poverty.

In all honesty, on this subject I am torn. I agree completely with what Jennie is saying, she is spot on and the fanaticism that has gone on with poverty and these kinds of figures with the media and politicians is disconcerting. However isn't there also a place for these kinds of poverty figures in developing society?

Just a short one for the end of the working day. It seems as though there is a shortage of Physics teachers in the country. I wonder why this is exactly...hmmmm. It couldn't possibly be to do with the fact that this country keeps cutting funding to the bloody subject is it?

Maybe this is what Harriet Harman's bill will really be for, to ensure that we can avoid the looming crunch on science ability in this country by filling up physics teachers jobs with sub-par English teachers, drama students and corner shop owners!

Last week (Monday 23rd) Unlock Democracy announced their plans to make the best use of the Haltemprice and Howden by-election, and that is to raise as much money as they can to raise awareness about the illiberal 42 day detention without charge legislation. Asking for £20 ideally they would be happy to get as much as possible as they have worked out they need £5,000 to provide enough literature and bodies on the ground to ensure that all the facts are out in the open for people to make an informed decision come election day, on July 10th.

How much money would it take for you to agree that it's no big deal to be locked up, lose your job, have your family broken apart, to not be earning for over a month, to have your personal belongings sifted through and investigated , to become a terrorist in the eyes of any person that knows of your detention, and this is all assuming (god forbid) the tabloids don't find out your situation and delve in to your life in their usual hap-hazard style?

Well according to the BBC the government is ready to set that price to £3,000 a day after you've been detained for 28 days but not charged.

The Liberal Democrats announced on Tuesday a "radical" new plan that aims to shake up transport policy in the country for the future. Unfortunately for them it really isn't radical enough, more accurately it is a collection of good ideas marred by not enough courage or vision to be truly radical wrapped up in a package who's most radical proposal is to fund and create one of the most illiberal transport legislature ever made.

Cutting fuel duty and abolishing VED over the next 10 years and introducing a cost-neutral road user pricing scheme on motorways and trunk roads. - Liberal Democrat Website

If you're interested in more of this debate amongst Lib Dem bloggers and other interested parties then head over to Lib Dem Voice now and take a look at what's been said. Otherwise please read on for more of my thoughts by following the link below!

All in all I don't think that the budget we witnessed today was especially ground breaking. Commentators have already said about how most of it was expected and about the tone, my only interest is what the effects mean for people in the long run. Personally I don't think it is as bad as it could have been but it's certainly not favourable, certainly some of the "positives" are barely positives at all in more historical context and it's not within me to congratulate people for offering piecemeal as if it is a huge concession.