Our Climate Conversation

Cost of Living Scandal

Even before Ofgem increased the energy price cap in April, many low income families were struggling with cost of living problems. The subsequent price hike three months later made some form of Government support essential, but Truss’s short term price cap has many defects. Firstly it represents a huge transfer of public money to fossil fuel producers that are already making obscenely large unexpected profits, without strengthening the windfall tax. This amounts to a Theft from the Future. The second objection is that the current level of price cap help is so poorly targeted that it will not prevent 5 million children falling into poverty this winter, and an ever larger proportion of our nation from turning up at one of the country’s 3,000 food banks.

The recent mini-budget with its ideologically-driven unfunded transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich has made the situation much worse. It also had the effects of crashing the pound against the dollar thereby making imported items and business raw materials dramatically more expensive, and greatly increasing inflation for us all.
In her critique, Miatta Fahnbulleh CEO of New Economics Foundation wrote: “He should have provided additional protections for families on low to modest incomes through a cost of living allowance, plus a much needed boost to benefits, paid for by toughening the windfall tax on energy producers and increasing the tax paid on wealth. He should have put the building blocks in place to get us out of this energy crisis, for example through a Great Homes Upgrade, which would help to reduce the energy we use by insulating millions of homes and ramp up the production of clean energy through cooperative energy providers owned by the public.”

United for Warm Homes

United for Warm Homes (set up by Friends of the Earth) is a growing movement of community groups and activists from all walks of life campaigning for a common goal: warm homes for all. The average energy bill has almost doubled between October 2021 and October 2022. There are four areas of Bromsgrove that are reckoned to be Energy Crisis Hotspots – put your postcode into the map on the webpage and see how your area fares.

The campaign is calling for (a) Urgent additional financial support to keep people warm (b) A nationwide home insulation programme (c) Permanent fixes to our failed energy system. We need your support to show politicians that there is widespread demand for action on the energy crisis. We aim to be visible throughout our neighbourhoods speaking to people on the streets, on their doorsteps, in the supermarkets and organising activities to engage a range of interests. And asking everyone to sign our petition.

See us on Facebook - Bromsgrove Climate Action or email BromsgroveClimateAction@gmail.com