Having moved to Peebles in 2002, ‘Stooriefit’ Bosco Santimano gives us his own take on what he feels is the hot topic of the day. This week it’s the cost-of-living crisis due to a steep hike in energy prices.
What a rollercoaster ride British citizens have been on since Brexit, covid-19 and now the fatal energy blow being delivered to hardworking families in this country. From April this year electricity and gas tariffs will go up by over 50% on average, thanks in part to the price cap being removed by Ofgem and a free for all in a capitalist energy market. The working poor, pensioners, benefit claimants and ordinary folks will have to make a serious choice of whether to feed themselves and their families or heat their homes to keep everyone warm and comfortable. A disgrace for the United Kingdom as it belongs to the G7 club of rich nations.
While rising energy prices will affect most households across the country, they are more likely to disproportionately affect those on the lowest incomes. In the financial year ending in 2020, the poorest 10% of households spent more than half (54%) of their average weekly expenditure (£298.90) on essentials such as housing (including electricity and gas), food and transport. Those in the richest 10%, in comparison, spend 42% of their average weekly spend of £1,073.20 on the same essentials. As usual, during any economic crisis, it’s the working class that suffers the most and are often blamed, even though it’s the fault of our elected politicians and their lobbyist friends and donors.
Locally the Tory run council introduced iPads for all high school pupils and primary 6 & 7’s a few years ago as part of their levelling up agenda. I had pointed out in my columns that many pupils from low-income backgrounds may struggle to even charge their free iPads due to their household’s using prepayment metres! None of the elected councillors were aware of this major financial barrier and were absolutely clueless when asked by me.
A perfect storm is brewing for many households in Scotland as a decrease in wages, increase in high food prices and from April a massive energy price hike. Rishi Sunak has not extended the £20 Universal Credit last year as that would have help cushioned the impact a little. The current rate of pay and benefits don’t fit well with a rich nation like the UK. Prepayment meters will see the highest price rise and they are mostly used by the poor and most vulnerable in our society. It beggars’ belief that the citizenry can be so easily mislead and benefit claimants scapegoated again and again for the deals made by politicians to rob the tax payers via their friends and families companies which are setup simply to steal money officially through various tax havens.
Overall, considering predicted energy price increases alongside a reduction in real wages and the planned increase in national insurance contributions, the Resolution Foundation feared a “living standards catastrophe” in 2022. It estimated that taxes and energy bills would rise by an average of £1,200 per household in April 2022 under current government plans.
It’s time to act and take back our country (Scotland) from the rich, powerful and corrupt institutions of the United Kingdom!
Published in The Peeblesshire News on Friday 18th February 2022
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