‘For millions of families’, the Telegraph reports today, poinsettia ‘is as much a festive favourite as turkey and Christmas trees’. Which is odd given that they’re tropical plants which like to be grown at a balmy 20 degrees. But we can expect fewer of them this year because the UK energy crisis means energy bills are up by almost a third for some growers this year. The plants aren’t worth heating. We could see a million fewer of them grown here this Christmas than five years ago, so suppliers are having to bring in lower-quality stock from the continent to meet demand.
Will Ed Miliband pledge a price freeze on poinsettias? And show that socialism can save Christmas? Stranger things have happened. And plenty strange things are emerging from the trebling of UK fuel prices over the last decade.
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