some shit is going in the log burner this winter,never mind pre dried logs at £3.50 a bag, do car tyres burn anyone?
I couldn't say if it was the case that energy bills went down in real terms for 20 years running after privatisation. I always remember every year vast profits being reported by energy companies though, so if the customer was benefitting then it wasn't a form of charity as the energy firms were doing very nicely out of whatever we were paying too
@metalblue if that was the case and I'm not sure it is, it's been totally blown out of the water now. I don't remember my parents being in shock that the bills were going up double in a matter of months. Some people are going to be paying more for energy than they are for rent, it's unsustainable. The government has to do more or they will face vast bills to try and cope with huge amounts of people being homeless as with the interest rate rise too on top people will lose their homes. I don't remember my parents saying every single item of food they bought had gone up by at least 20p and more. Everytime I go shopping everything has risen in price.
Most of my childhood we had a coal fire, at least until my teens when we got a gas fire. No central heating as kids though which meant the bedrooms and bathrooms were freezing most of the time in winter. It was a big thing when they bought a paraffin heater. This would be on the landing and put on when my dad got up for work at 5am and again an hour before we went to bed. We had hot water bottles too.
This is unprecedented, I don't remember anything as bad as this in my lifetime cost wise for fuel and everyday items. Businesses will go bust as it's not sustainable to stay open. I saw on Granada reports a local bakeries operating costs had risen from £1,000 to £2,000 a month, they are going to close. That will be the same for many others. The ones that do try and stay open will put up prices adding to customers burdens. I don't think anybody is asking the government to pay their fuel bills they just want them at a sustainable level. If very little is done people will die from cold, hunger and suicide, pushed over the edge. Already in this country thousands of pensioners die every winter as they freeze to death in homes they can't afford to heat and live on very little food. Many slip through the net for help as they don't have internet access or know how to get any help. A lot are too proud to accept what they see as charity too.
A massive crisis and as good ship Britain sails towards the iceberg we have a current prime minister telling us it's okay we're suffering because Ukraine is suffering more. Then we have dumb and dumber fighting to lead a party that has ruined Britain for everyone but the very wealthy. Tipping point is being reached if we're not there now.
Same here mate. One coal fire for the whole house, mum with the newspaper to get a draw on it, it catching light more often than not, and ice on the inside of windows in winter. Went to bed fully dressed many nights. Lovely memories!! We got through it but it wasn’t pleasant and I’m not advocating for back to them days!!!
The main problem with the bills right now isn’t privatisation (although if it was state run you could argue government would be able to rob Peter to pay Paul) but is to do with how prices are pegged, it used to be pegged to oil plus refining now it’s down to spot gas prices - we have benefitted a lot from this decision (it was an EU decision not UK decision btw) over the last 20 years but now we are suffering the downside of that decision. If you added up all the money we saved we are still ahead of the game but that’s small comfort to us right now
Best thing energy companies can do right now is tell people not to worry, that they’ll come up with a plan to help spread the cost and that no one is getting cut off if they are paying at least what they pay now.
The cost to the government of not doing more will be dwarfed by the consequences if they don't, with sorting out the thousands and more homeless and out of work as a result.
I think your right on this. Especially with the vulnerable and cost of medical intervention. I do worry about the immune systems being able to fight off bugs when we are in the almost inevitable cold houses - like when we was kids. Plus when I was kids I used to eat mud so pretty much immune to every bug going. We built up a resistance.
Perhaps it’s not just the vulnerable - we might build up future health issues with kids etc. Politicians probably won’t care…future government problem to deal with
You had real hot water bottles ?!?!!??!!Most of my childhood we had a coal fire, at least until my teens when we got a gas fire. No central heating as kids though which meant the bedrooms and bathrooms were freezing most of the time in winter. It was a big thing when they bought a paraffin heater. This would be on the landing and put on when my dad got up for work at 5am and again an hour before we went to bed. We had hot water bottles too.
'''take your feet out of the fire you'l end up with bloody chilblains'''You had real hot water bottles ?!?!!??!!
Ha, seriously though mate, we used to fight over plastic bottles round our way, fill them with hot water and use them as many couldn’t afford a hot water bottle, but those paraffin heaters (or the little gas ones the council put in at the foot of the stairs) were an absolute godsend in winter.
Oddly about the coal fires though, as a kid always remember my Mam getting up early to get the fire going before we got up, we’d get dressed for school, have our breakfast, almost sitting on top of the fire, great days in some ways.
Politicians bug me when they say this when they are being paid over £100k a year when expenses are taken into account. Bet he won’t be making any!The Chancellor wants us to make economies.