Don't tell the truth

Two stories in the Telegraph tell us what's wrong with Gordon Brown's approach to high energy prices and what's wrong with the New Labour model as a whole.

Yesterday the Telegraph reported that:

An executive at energy giant E.On is facing disciplinary proceedings, after Prime Minister Gordon Brown was among those to condemn his "totally inappropriate" joke about the firm making money from gas price rises.

His gaffe, disclosed by the Telegraph, undermined Mr Brown's announcement of a package of measures designed to knock up to £250 off families' fuel bills.

Mark Owen-Lloyd's mistake was obviously telling the truth. Gordon Brown

said Mr Owen-Lloyd's comments were "inappropriate."

"I think everybody is against people making remarks like that, and I'm pleased that there has now been a full and comprehensive apology," Mr Brown said.

Brown is too scared of the energy companies to make an issue of it. Not that it will do him any good. Today the Telegraph, amongst others says that in spite of Brown's promises to the contrary:

Families are facing even higher fuel bills after energy companies threatened to pass on the costs of Gordon Brown's drive to insulate millions of homes.

Of course the government won't be able to do anything about it if they do. New Labour tolerates an energy market that doesn't work, where energy companies make huge profits at the expense of consumers. Its pro-business, pro-markets ideology doesn't allow it to tackle the issue.