The prime minister seems to be suffering from a dangerous degree of complacency in the face of the mounting energy crisis. If he is not careful, he too may gain the unfortunate image of being out of touch that attached itself to another Labour prime minister, who came to office a half century ago – James Callaghan, whose reaction to widespread industrial strikes in the bitter winter of 1978-79 led to the infamous newspaper headline, “Crisis, what crisis?”
It was a misquote, but one that stuck because of the sense of a lack of urgency and grip that surrounded the government of the day.
