Monday

“’Grim’ September ahead with 6,000 steel and oil jobs to go” said the BBC headline. The report went on to discuss the likelihood that 2,800 jobs were set to be lost at Port Talbot in Wales, up to 3,000 jobs were in jeopardy at British Steel in Scunthorpe, and a further 400 would be cut at the oil refinery at Grangemouth in Scotland. Never let it be said that the pain of net zero isn’t being borne across the entire country.

Tuesday

A vote was held in the House of Commons with regard to the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations 2024. In other words, MPs were voting on whether or not to withdraw from most old age pensioners in the UK the annual payment of £200 or £300 made to them in winter to help them pay their ever-rising fuel bills. Needless to say MPS voted by 348 to 228 to take the money off the old people. What ought to be more surprising (but, sadly, isn’t) is that the vast majority of the 348 MPs voting to take the money off pensioners (many, but not all, of whom are relatively poor) were Labour Party MPs.

Wednesday

The appalling news from south Wales was confirmed as the Government boasted about wasting half a billion pounds of UK taxpayers’ money in order to bring to an end 2,500 jobs imminently, with a further 300 job losses down the line. “UK government confirms £500m Tata Steel subsidy” said the BBC headline The new Labour Business and Trade Secretary said this brought “hope”.

Thursday

Another day, another depressing headline: “Scotland’s only oil refinery is to close by the summer of next year, with the loss of 400 jobs.”

Friday

Today’s first headline hadn’t been touted by the BBC at the beginning of the week, but why not finish the week as it started? This is, after all, Britain under a Labour Government that doesn’t seem to understand the “labour” part of its name. “Boiler maker Worcester Bosch considering job cuts” is the depressing conclusion to the “working” week. We aren’t told how many jobs are, regrettably, at risk, but we do learn (not that it’s a surprise) that the “move towards electrification” is among the factors leading to the business review that seems certain to result in job losses.

It’s not the only headline today, though. The other one of significance relates to west Cumbria, a depressed area of the country with high rates of unemployment. This time it isn’t job losses that are the problem, rather it’s the determination of some people to ensure that poor people can’t have work. “Coal mine plan quashed by High Court” we learn. I don’t blame the Judge, who had no choice other than to follow the ruling of the Supreme Court in R (on the application of Finch on behalf of the Weald Action Group) v Surrey County Council and others. However, I do blame the recently elected Labour government, which is already making a habit of deciding not to defend its predecessor’s decisions when they are challenged in Court by lawfare groups. So that’s another 500 direct jobs and potentially many more in the supply chain that won’t now be created.

Net zero is the policy that underlies many of these headlines. It’s raising fuel bills, it’s enabling foreign companies to hoover up subsidies, it’s impoverishing people, it’s destroying jobs, it’s damaging the UK’s manufacturing base, it’s devastating the UK’s wild places, and it’s achieving absolutely nothing vis-a-vis the climate. And a Labour government is accelerating the process as we hurtle towards the cliff. If a week is a long time in politics, I shudder to think what five years will be like.