It's all gone a bit 'Socialism is back!' hasn't it? Fear and loathing in the energy market debate

One can't help feeling that all the fearful yelling about Socialism coming back (if only it were), by the likes of - most of - the national press and Peter Mandelson, is something of a indication that finally Ed MilliB may be doing something right in his proposals around fuel pricing.

If it is hacking them all off that much, getting energy companies et al to be screaming 'foul play!', it's hard to resist the notion that there may be something in the proposals being made by the Labour party.

And if the energy companies try to get around things by ramming prices up before the next election (as they have so repeatedly done regardless of whether wholesale prices are up, down or spinning around) isn't that a huge "I told you so" that would only confirm the complete lack of 'bovveredness' of said companies for the impact of their pricing policies on everyday cost of living?  Wouldn't that prove how toothless the so-called regulators have been of the privatised energy industry (sorry - I mean of course 'nationalised energy industry, except they're owned by OTHER nations than the UK)?  Isn't the problem of more being spent on shareholders than on investment, that said companies are merely paying lipservice to notions of weaning consumers off damaging fossil fuel practices, an indictment of how the market hasn't really worked for this provision we take for granted in the developed world?

And if AFTER any price freeze, prices did rocket again, how would that prove that the status quo of letting the companies and markets do as they please is the right option?