Utility Week

Community women, he should be alright… Which leads inexorably to Jacob Rees-Mogg, and his eleva- tion to Leader of the House of Commons. Some people • nd his ridiculous Old Victorian shtick too… well, ridiculous, so it's good to see Jacob has resolved to tone it down a bit in an attempt to be taken seriously. Only joking! Jacob's • rst act was not only to lay down the law for his sta„ on points of grammar, but to choose points of grammar that were neither points nor grammatical. Thus he declared that everyone was to use two spaces a† er a full stop, and append the word "esquire" to any male who didn't have another formal title. Likewise, if was forbidden to use a comma a† er the word "and", presumably to stop sen- tences such as: "Jacob Rees-Mogg is an idiot and, despite having an expensive education, doesn't have a clue about grammar." Thank goodness Jacob is himself surrounded by some plain-speaking salt-of-the-earth types who may not have gone to Eton but have common sense, by God! Step forward Esther McVey and Nadine Dorries. The stinking truth If you're currently being both- ered by the smell of incompe- tence and hypocrisy rising from Disconnector Publishing director, Utilities: Ellen Bennett, t: 01342 332084, e: ellenbennett@fav-house.com; Content director: Jane Gray, janegray@fav-house.com, t: 01342 333004; Editor: Suzanne Heneghan, t: 01342 332106, e: suzanneheneghan@fav-house.com Digital editor: James Wallin, 01342 332015, jameswallin@fav-house.com; Intelligence editor: Denise Chevin, 01342 332087, denisechevin@fav-house.com Energy correspondent: Tom Grimwood, t: 01342 332061, e: tomgrimwood@fav-house.com; Policy correspondent: David Blackman, e: davidblackman@ fav-house.com; Reporter: Adam John, t: 01342 332069, e: adamjohn@fav-house.com; Editorial assistant: Greg Jones, t: 01342 332102, e: gregjones@fav-house.com; Production editor: Paul Newton, t: 01342 332085, e: paulnewton@fav-house.com; Business development manager: Ben Hammond, e: benhammond@fav-house.com. t: 01342 332116; Business development executive: Sarah Wood, e: sarahwood@ fav-house.com. t: 01342 332117 Conference sponsorship manager: Sophie Abbott, t: 01342 332062, e: sophieabbott@ fav-house.com; General enquiries: 01342 332000; Membership enquiries: Peter Bissell, t: 01342 332057, e: peterbissell@fav-house.com. 2,500 Average circulation Jan–Dec 2018 Membership subscriptions: UK £769+VAT per year. Overseas £781 per year. Contact Peter Bissell on: 01342 332057 Utility Week is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), the regulator of the UK's magazine and newspaper industry. We abide by the Editors' Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think we have not met those standards and want to make a complaint, please contact the Editor. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you want more information about IPSO or the Editors' Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk. democratic will of the British people. "It's at moments like this that I think the politi- cal world has gone mad, and I am alone in detecting the gigantic fraud." That commentator was none other than Boris, although the year was 2007 and he wasn't referring to himself, but Gordon Brown. But perhaps Disconnector is being unfair to our new PM and he is a changed man since he penned those apocalyptic words. Maybe when he cajoled Remain- ers to get o„ the "hamster wheel of doom", he was re˜ ecting on his own personal journey. He certainly seems a lot more jolly about the prospects of ruling without a democratic mandate. Punctuation maketh the man It's said that Boris is not a details man, which is not necessarily a fatal ˜ aw in a leader. As long as he's got the good sense to sur- round himself with able men and The hamster wheel of doom So, since the last issue of Utility Week hit the streets, the country has got a new prime minister. Yup, step forward one Alexander Boris de Pfe„ el Johnson, better known to friends and enemies alike simply as "Boris". The tousle-haired Old Etonian has seemed like a shoo-in for the highest political o› ce in the land for so long that it is easy to forget that he's only there by virtue of winning the Conservative party leader- ship, which he did with 92,000 votes. To put that into context, Boaty McBoatface got 124,000 votes, but was overruled by a panel who decided that it was plainly a stupid idea. Luckily for Boris, he faced no such test, so PM it jolly well is, then. Of course, not everyone is happy that Mr Johnson is taking the reins without hav- ing his legitimacy con• rmed by the electorate by way of a general election. As one commentator fumed: It's the arrogance. It's the contempt. That's what gets me. It's the apparent belief that he can just trample on the UTILITY WEEK | 2ND - 8TH AUGUST 2019 | 31 Westminster, spare a thought for residents of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, who are being plagued by a real stink rather than a metaphorical one. The beaches of Yucatan are usually picture-perfect white, but this year they are being deluged by a brown slime of rotting seaweed and algae called sargassum, which brings with it a stench of "rotten eggs" as it dries in the sun. And it's about to get worse. O› cials have warned that a ˜ oating island of the seaweed the size of Jamaica is bobbing a short distance away from the shore. UK water companies take note: we may have miles of coastline to keep clean but at least we don't have super- blooms of algae to deal with – at least, not yet. Bite me American crocodiles have been brought back from the brink of extinction, in large part thanks to the breeding grounds pro- vided by the canals of Florida Power & Light's Turkey Point nuclear plant. Last week, 73 crocodile hatchlings were tagged by a team of specialists and dozens more are expected this year. It's ironic that nuclear power – so loathed by eco-warriors for the danger it presents to the planet – proves such a haven for wildlife. shtick too… well, ridiculous, resolved to tone it down a Boaty McBoatface: got more votes than the PM but was demoted to a ship-board sub

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