Another Government Official lying about energy costs

Faced with growing public dissatisfaction with the high cost of energy in the United Kingdom (UK), a country with some of the highest costs in the world, Prime Minister Keir Starmer is the latest to lie about why energy costs are so high.  Starmer's comment "I'm fed up with the fact that families across the country see their bills go up and down on energy... because of the actions of Putin or Trump across the world."

Horse manure.

The United Kingdom has high energy costs because they refuse to take steps to make eliminate their dependence on foreign countries for resources.  If Keir Starmer really is "fed up" that the actions of foreign leaders like Trump, Putin, and the Government of Iran are messing with their supply of energy why doesn't he announce that he will undo the policies that prevent the UK from being self-sufficient?  Specifically, if Starmer really cared he could immediately:

• Announce that Britain will once again mine their coal and build new coal plants to replace the ones that used to be kept on standby for emergencies until they were demolished as part of Green policy;
• Preserve and expand the country's natural gas storage facility in the North Sea that is in danger of shutting down soon; 
• Approve more drilling in the North Sea, and 
• Explore the potential for shale gas.

Starmer is using the same arguments California Governor Gavin Newsom uses to deflect attention from the policies enacted by the Democrats in California (CA).  It's like a version of the Wizard of Oz - focus on the Bad Orange Man and pay no attention to the policies in the corner.  Ignore the policies that prevent California from using oil resources it could drill for but isn't.  Ignore the policies forcing multiple refineries to shut down.  Ignore the policies that require refiners to produce more expensive gas for California than they produce anywhere else in the US.  Ignore the high taxes that further raise the price of gas.

None of that is responsible for high gas prices - it's all Donald Trump's fault.

Of course, the ultimate stupidity of the UK and California is their policies promote more climate issues, not less.  Both Starmer and Newsom are promoting clean energy like wind and sun but neither the UK or CA will fully converted to those during either leader's lifetime.  That means both the United Kingdom and California will, for decades to come, import oil and gas from countries that produce the energy using dirtier extraction and refining processes, creating more not less pollution, and the fuel is then shipped via tankers that add still more pollution, in the case of tankers that is pollution of both the air and the oceans.