Having simply arrived again from visiting Oslo, I can inform you Norway works splendidly with one of many highest requirements of residing on the earth. And it does it by totally exploiting its pure sources – exporting oil and fuel so it is among the few economies with an financial surplus.
So why can’t we do this with our pure power sources within the UK?
Like Britain, Norway found a bounty of oil and fuel within the North Sea within the Nineteen Sixties however, at this time, fairly than now deciding to shut down its fields to win some witless race to web zero, it sells most of it overseas to fund social expenditure.
Most of its electrical energy for residence use comes from hydroelectricity so it could actually afford to promote its carbon power around the globe. The figures are spectacular. It’s the third largest exporter of pure fuel after Russia and Qatar, the eighth largest exporter of crude oil and has a number of the largest coal reserves on the earth.
Certain, some green-minded, middle-class Norwegians really feel responsible about this, however their authorities is sensibly ignoring them, because the wealth generated by exporting carbon fuels means shorter working hours, stronger labour rights and a really beneficiant welfare system.
Norway is seventh on the earth Happiness Report, whereas the UK is twentieth. And, from a inexperienced standpoint, it has the best variety of electrical vehicles on the earth.
Properly, Norway’s authorities has ensured that a part of its power bonanza is channelled right into a Authorities Pension Fund World with belongings of £1.3trillion, thus guaranteeing all Norwegians profit from a excessive spending welfare system. Its public transport system is spectacular, frequent and fairly priced, with elegant trams being a beautiful characteristic of Oslo’s metropolis centre.
Fairly than slicing down on petrochemical exploration, Norway is hoping to make up for a decline in North Sea oil by exploring its Arctic seas.
Why on earth is the UK not doing this with its personal under the floor wealth? As an alternative our authorities has been captured by inexperienced zealots who see no connection between pure wealth and the next way of life. As an alternative, Labour are choking off North Sea oil and fuel exploration, shutting down coal mines and metal works.
For some odd purpose, they assume it’s greener to import power fairly than promote our personal around the globe. If we are able to make sufficient electrical energy from renewables, which appears unlikely with out huge subsidies, then we must always promote our personal oil, fuel and coal to pay for our ballooning public sector.
Norwegian widespread sense signifies that they’re additionally in a position to deal extra effectively with immigration. Having elevated over current years, migrants make up some 17 per cent of the inhabitants however most of them are from Poland, Ukraine and Baltic states, drawn by work alternatives.
They’ve accepted much less migrants from failing states. Sensing some migrants have been exploiting the system by mendacity about their locations of origin and circumstances, they deployed DNA exams to verify household tie claimants and make sure the system was strong serving to these in real want.
By protecting correct knowledge on immigrants, they revealed that non-European immigrants have been over-represented within the prison justice system.
As a way to convey down the prices of imprisoning them, akin to offering interpreters, international criminals have been positioned in a separate jail for these awaiting deportation after serving their sentence.
They see no level in re-integrating them into Norwegian society. Maybe this is able to be a good suggestion for the ten,000 international criminals housed all through our UK prisons?
Norway is a a lot smaller nation than the UK with a inhabitants of simply over 5 million and never every thing is ideal there. The price of importing meals is excessive, making costs difficult for locals not to mention vacationers. Eye-watering costs of alcohol definitely meant I drank much less.
However general the sense of a society comfortable with itself is palpable. It has a confidence and generosity coming from a sensible method to its sovereign wealth. It’s not a part of the EU and might chart its personal future which, with the world marketplace for power being insatiable, appears to be like to proceed to be extremely affluent.
If solely our authorities took an analogous sensible method to Britain’s pure wealth, dropped the inexperienced fanaticism, and targeted on taking advantage of our personal petrochemical good luck to counterpoint us all.