The new normal, just so you know

According to the Sunday Times today, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer (Minister of Finance) has told Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, “We don’t expect gas prices to return to normal this decade."

This applies to every country that doesn't have a source of cheap energy. 

More so to other countries. Great Britain, after all, has oil.

That's why Hungary, Serbia, India and most of the Third World have played nice with Russia.

Great Britain spends £180 billion a year, 10 per cent of GDP, on energy, as much as is spent on the sacrosanct national health service. It's four and a half times the £40 billion spent on energy before the pandemic. 

As for Rishi Sunak, he had built up a £30 billion surplus by the time he resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer in July. 

It had become a black hole of £80 billion by the time he returned, thanks to interest rate rises, energy price rises and the gross incompetence and bad luck of the aptly named Miss Truss, whom the markets mistrusted. 

It is now 'only' somewhere around £50 billion, because his taking office calmed the markets.

Electors knew there had to be harsh cutbacks after the crazy spending during the pandemic, but now they will blame all the hardships on Conservative incompetence. 

That will be partly unfair but partly right.