NEVER did I think my predictions regarding the UK/Europe energy crisis (The Cumberland News, letters, September 25) would come to pass so soon.

Shockingly, this Conservative government has once again proved to be not just asleep at the wheel, but this time to have not even bothered to put anyone in the driving seat!

As the Prime Minister swanned out of his party conference in Manchester to a deluge of sycophantic applause, he couldn’t wait to grab his maracas and head off to the Costa del Sol for his second holiday in seven weeks, leaving the country rudderless, with no deputy appointed, resulting in his ministers behaving like rats in a sack as they contradict each other, squirm on national media in denial of any crisis despite the country facing a grim winter of possible energy cuts, logistics disruption of supplies to retailers and rising prices no doubt resulting in higher inflation generated large mortgage increases next year, affecting millions of families.

The total incompetence of this government, which is headed by a booming, blustering Billy Bunter-style Prime Minister, who regularly when faced with a crisis takes no action for months, then realising his mistake shouts ‘cripes’, does a rapid U-turn, or bunks off back to his ‘tuck shop’ of holiday homes provided by friends he has elevated to the peerage, while the rest of us are heading into years of cost-us-a-packet.

Unparalleled increases in energy costs are now forecast to double domestic bills in the next two years, with gas in particular now being targeted by the government with the near £200 a year we already pay in green taxes on electricity being transferred to our gas bills.

However, this dire situation we find ourselves in is not helped by media hype causing panic buying, such as claims of a shortage of Christmas confectionery tubs, i.e. Quality Street, when in fact nearly all Christmas confectionery was manufactured many months ago, probably as far back as Easter, with production lines today producing next Easter’s stock, which on past history items such as Cadbury Creme Eggs will pop up in our shops on Boxing Day!

Many years ago, a close friend (at the time an attache at our embassy in Rabat, Morocco) told me of an assassination attempt where, as just about everyone hit the ground as security saw off the assailant, our ambassador, still sitting in a captain’s chair by the pool, exclaimed “Good God! The blighter has shot a hole in the Telegraph crossword.”

That great British Bulldog spirit of keep calm and carry on is sadly lacking in certain quarters of the UK today.

Patrick Tracey
St Edmunds Park, Carlisle