Latest news with #Prax
The National
01-05-2025
- Business
- The National
Grangemouth's fate was sealed when Scotland didn't back independence
The ultimate failure of our Yes campaign to convince 50%+1 of the voters that Scotland could not only survive but prosper as an independent nation resulted in the continuation, to this day, of the so-called United Kingdom. Up until a few days ago there were six major oil refineries in the UK. Phillips 66, Humber Refinery, South Killingholme – 221,000 barrels per day; Prax, Lindsey Oil Refinery, North Killingholme – 111,300 barrels per day; Petroineos, Grangemouth refinery –150,000 barrels per day; Essar Energy plc, Stanlow refinery – 190,000 barrels per day. Valero Energy Corp, Pembroke refinery – 270,000 barrels per day; ExxonMobil, Fawley refinery – 270,000 barrels per day. In total, that's an overall refining capacity of over 1.2 million barrels per day. The five other UK refineries will apparently be able to fill the shortfall from the loss of Grangemouth. From a UK perspective there are enough refineries ready, willing and able to meet demand. Incidentally, in 1976 there were 17 oil refineries in the UK. By 2000 there were 12. Those politicians and campaigners who demand that we 'just stop oil', or use a lot less of it, might like to reflect long and hard on the loss of thousands of skilled jobs we have just witnessed. Those who decreed on our behalf that there should be more no petrol or diesel-powered cars by 2030 need to learn that actions may have consequences. Ironically many electric cars are produced in China, which is still commissioning new coal-fired power stations at the rate of about one a week. The UK Government is moving heaven and earth – and a massive amount of Japanese coal – to keep the UK's only blast furnaces in Scunthorpe alive. It looks upon Grangemouth as only one of six refineries. In their eyes it is expendable. Both the UK and Scottish governments often drag out the prospect of new work at Grangemouth in the shape of Project Acorn despite the fact that it will take many years for that particular acorn to grow and replace even a small fraction of the jobs lost today. Perhaps it should be renamed Project Carrot. Brian Lawson Paisley The obsession with net zero is driving Britain into economic decline, social division, and strategic weakness. What began as a vague environmental target has morphed into an ideological crusade, detached from reality and blind to the damage it is causing. Rural communities are being penalised for simply trying to live and work. Farmers face restrictions, motorists are vilified, and perfectly functional energy sources are being scrapped in favour of unreliable, expensive alternatives. Meanwhile, countries like China and India continue to increase emissions – unapologetically –while we cripple our economy in a futile display of moral posturing. Net zero is not just bad policy; it is a luxury belief of the political elite. Ordinary people are paying the price through higher bills, limited travel, and job losses in traditional industries. Yet politicians and activists refuse to admit what's obvious – Britain cannot save the world by impoverishing itself. We need a serious energy policy, one based on affordability, security, and common sense, not fantasy targets and international virtue signalling. Fossil fuels still have a role to play. So does nuclear power. So does a proper debate, free from hysteria and censorship. Protecting the environment matters. But destroying our way of life in the name of net zero is not the answer. It's time for Britain to put its own people first and bring this reckless agenda to an end. Councillor Alastair Redman Independent Councillor for Kintyre and the Islands Islay, Argyll and Bute I AM chief executive of Muscular Dystrophy UK, the leading charity for more than 110,000 people in the UK living with one of more than 60 muscle wasting and weakening conditions. As such, I urge the Scottish Government and NHS health boards to make givinostat, a new life-changing treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy available to all eligible boys and young men in Scotland. People with progressive and degenerative muscle wasting and weakening conditions such as Duchenne don't have time to waste. Accessing treatments as early as possible can make a significant difference in their quality of life. After meeting families campaigning for access to givinostat this week, Health Secretary Neil Gray made a commitment to support the rollout of the treatment as quickly as possible. While this is welcomed, it is crucial that this is made an urgent priority. Despite an Early Access Programme (EAP) being open for eligible patients, while we await the recommendation of the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC), we are not aware of any Health Board in Scotland giving the treatment to boys with Duchenne. I urge health boards to prioritise the additional resources needed, including pharmacy, phlebotomy, and nursing support. Attention from the Scottish media has helped to shine a light on the issue. We must now ensure all those who might benefit from givinostat can access it, wherever they live. If anyone is affected by this situation, please reach out to our helpline for support, 0800 652 6352. Andy Fletcher Muscular Dystrophy UK
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mistaken vote advances key education bill in Alaska House, highlighting tight margin
Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, House Minority Leader Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, and House Rules Committee Chair Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, talk on the floor of the Alaska House on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon) A voting error by one Alaska House of Representatives minority-caucus member on Wednesday moved a public-school funding increase one step closer to passage through the Alaska House of Representatives. But it also exposed the weakness of the House's majority caucus. Rep. Mike Prax, R-North Pole, joined 20 members of the House majority in voting to move House Bill 69 from the House Education Committee to the House Finance Committee. If signed into law, HB 69 would permanently increase the state's per-student public school funding formula. The finance committee is the final stop before a vote of the full House. Prax opposes the bill and has said he wants to see broader changes to the state's public school system, but on Wednesday, he erroneously voted to advance the measure and did not change his vote when prompted by Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham. Prax said afterward that he didn't realize he had voted to advance HB 69. After he realized his mistake, he made a motion to reverse the vote. That motion to rescind action failed, 19-20. Under ordinary circumstances, Prax and the rest of the Alaska House wouldn't have had to consider HB 69 on Wednesday. But for more than a week, Rep. Maxine Dibert, D-Fairbanks, has been absent from the Capitol, hospitalized for what her office called a 'respiratory issue.' Dibert is a member of the House's education committee, and without her presence, the committee hasn't had the votes to advance HB 69. While minority-caucus Republicans have said they didn't have enough of a chance to weigh in on the bill in committee, majority members say they had ample chances to do so before the bill was ready to move onward. On Feb. 10, the committee paused its regular meeting, and Chair Rebecca Himschoot, I-Sitka and the author of HB 69, asked if one or more committee members from the minority caucus would be willing to help move the bill onward. 'I was there, and you did say, 'I'd like to move this bill today. Are you ready to move it?' And the minority said no. And so you held the bill,' said Rep. Andi Story, D-Fairbanks, speaking to reporters alongside Himschoot on Wednesday. The issue wasn't brought up again. 'Nobody asked us again after the seriousness of her illness became apparent. We were not asked about whether we would move it out,' House Minority Leader Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, said on Wednesday. HB 69 has been the top priority of the House's coalition majority, and lawmakers had been set on passing it through the House by mid-March. That timing would allow the increased K-12 funding to be incorporated into the state budget, and school districts — whose budgets are generally finalized in the spring for the coming year — would have an early indication about the Legislature's intentions. But Dibert's absence made that schedule impossible. For more than a week, HB 69 has been stalled in the education committee. To break the impasse, the majority caucus used a technique normally employed by members of the minority caucus — they called for a 'discharge motion' on the House floor, effectively asking the whole House to vote on advancing the bill from one committee to the next. There was no guarantee of success. The Alaska House is split between a 19-member Republican minority caucus and a 21-member multipartisan majority that includes two Republicans, five independents and 14 Democrats. With Dibert's absence, the majority had just 20 lawmakers present, one short of what was needed to advance the bill. Nevertheless, Edgmon said afterward, the majority felt that it needed to take a vote. The education committee had heard more than a month of testimony, overwhelmingly in favor of the bill. 'In deference to what we're being asked by our school districts to do, and by the majority of the state, we had to take action today,' he said. Though the vote succeeded, it aggravated members of the minority, who spoke for more than an hour afterward on the House floor, objecting to the process and saying they felt unheard by the majority. 'I would hope that all of our members' voices are taken seriously,' Costello said later. Wednesday's vote could foreshadow more to come in the closely divided House. As long as Dibert remains absent, the majority will have only 20 votes, one short of what is needed to pass legislation. 'Twenty-one is a challenging enough number, right?' Edgmon said. 'Like I've said from Day One, and I'll say it again: I think there's enough common ground. We just had a nice chat with the minority leader on the way out of the chamber, and you know, we know we need to work together, and there'll be other opportunities to work together.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
