Why gas Conn man made me explode
“MUM’S yelling at the radio again,” eldest child nodded to his brother yesterday morning over breakfast.
Gas boss was frothing with outrage at the capping plan
That was nothing. I was close to skewering the radio with my Marmite knife.
For rarely have I heard such greedy, out-of-touch self obsession as in the words of Centrica boss Iain Conn.
Mr Conn – whose company owns British Gas – was on the radio explaining why he believed plans to put a cap on energy prices was wrong.
For background reference purposes Mr Conn last year earned £4.15million at the company which made a pre-tax profit of £2.2billion.
And yet yesterday morning he was frothing with outrage at the capping plan being suggested by leading Tories.
(I know! I couldn’t believe it either, but it seems they’ve nicked the idea off Ed Miliband.)
Regardless of who came up with it, it’s certainly turned up the heat at British Gas.
“I think there are some at the heart of the Government who just don’t believe in free markets,” Mr Conn whined.
Too flippin’ right there is. And that’s long before you get to hard-pressed families and pensioners and the low paid. Because they don’t believe in free markets at all any more.
And why would they? Because all entirely free markets have ever done is screw them over. Time and again.
Look, I’m not suggesting an entire overthrow of capitalism here. I’m aware there are limitations to what even this column can achieve.
But we do have to have markets which are sufficiently controlled by rules which safeguard us. We don’t play football without rules, we don’t run cities without rules, we don’t operate workplaces without rules.
Why would this lot think they should be exempt? Unless years of getting away with daylight robbery has actually made them believe they are gangsters?
Without market rules we are dominated by businesses which act like selfish, spoilt children who, undisciplined, simply act however they choose, trampling over whoever is in their way to get their fat mitts inside the biscuit tin.
My mum rang at the weekend to say their latest electricity bill had arrived – having gone up more than a third from last time.
“It must be wrong”, I said. “Ring them up and tell them they’ve got it wrong.”
But I don’t think they have. Because at the end of the winter and with energy prices rising at supersonic speed, it’s probably right. It’s giving a big shock to pensioners.
And with Mrs May about to get the bolt cutters on their triplelock pension, older people are genuinely worried.
Which is why we need markets that serve rather than scare customers.
Despite some awareness on the energy cap issue, this Tory Government has shown little understanding about the realities of most ordinary people’s lives.
If not, why on earth are they panicking them with the threats to pensions and the prospect of ramping up VAT?
Mr Conn unmasked himself as the ugly face of capitalism, rejecting any hint of rules which could dent his profits.
But at least it’s clear now exactly who Mr Conn is and what the power firm chief executive believes in.
Far worse are those whose mask hasn’t yet slipped. But if next week’s Tory manifesto follows through on the pensions and VAT assault, it soon will do...