02/04/2022
Thousands of protesters demand the Government tackles the cost of living crisis
Thousands of protesters across Britain including Jeremy Corbyn today demanded the government tackles the cost of living crisis.
A Downing Street protest today saw around 100 people, among them former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, waving signs which read ‘tax the rich’ and ‘freeze energy bills, not people.’
Demonstrations were staged across the nation, including in Belfast where campaigners called for every household in Northern Ireland to receive £1,000 to help mitigate the increasing costs of fuel and food.
Protests also happened in cities including Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cardiff, Cambridge, Coventry, Derby, Doncaster, Glasgow, Hanley, Hull, Ipswich, Lancaster, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Preston, Redcar, Sheffield and Southampton.
At the Downing Street protest in central London, demonstrators made speeches asking for energy bills to be frozen and benefits to be boosted.
Former Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn speaks during a protest, outside the gates of Downing Street, against the increase of the cost of living, in London today (pictured)
Protesters near Downing Street in central London, at The People’s Assembly Against Austerity protest to highlight those suffering hardship from the cost of living crisis today (pictured)
Protester Isabella Fula, 17, from north London, said the rising cost of living was ‘a huge problem for many people.’
She said: ‘A lot of people that I know are suffering from it personally, and a lot of people that once lived in my area have now moved out due to raising rent and energy bills.
‘People aren’t earning enough to support themselves and buy food, or even pay for bills which are increasing by the minute.
‘I’m here to protest the rent and the rise in it, and try to aim for a better tomorrow.’
NEWCASTLE: Demonstrators fed up with high energy bills and government inaction congregate this afternoon in the city centre
Protesters gathered at a cost of living protest in Belfast today after Friday’s lifting of the energy price cap (pictured)
LONDON: Demonstrators hold placards as they attend a protest, outside the gates of Downing Street, against the increase of the cost of living today
It comes after Cabinet minister Brandon Lewis said the government cannot ‘completely nullify’ the impacts of pressure on energy prices, but it will offer support where possible.
Mr Corbyn said that this comment shows the Government is ‘out of touch with the reality of people’ facing poverty due to the cost of living.
He said: ‘I think it’s a very out of touch statement from a Government which is pretty out of touch which the reality of people as well.
‘I’m meeting people who are terrified of the next bill, so the very least we need is a price cap on energy, and then we need to say, well look at the profits of energy companies and look at the difficulties of people living.
‘I was in a food bank this morning talking to people there that don’t want food that they have to cook, because they can’t afford to turn the gas and electricity on to cook it.
‘This is the 21st century and we’re the fifth richest country in the world – it’s simply wrong and the Government must intervene.’
Demonstrators fed up with high energy bills and government inaction congregate in Newcastle this afternoon (pictured)
Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn looks on before speaking during a protest about the rising cost of living during a demonstration outside Downing Street in London today (pictured)
LONDON: A demonstrator holds a placard during The People’s Assembly Cost of Living Crisis protest today (pictured)
Unions have said that Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s spring statement last week did nothing to combat fears about soaring fuel bills and rising inflation, with the TUC calling for an emergency budget to help families.
And Friday’s lifting of the energy price cap has created an ‘impossible choice for many’, to heat or eat, said the People’s Assembly, who coordinated today’s protests.
A spokesperson for the campaign group said: ‘Public outrage over the cost-of-living crisis is growing fast, and our response is gaining momentum.’
Demonstrators fed up with high energy bills and government inaction congregate in Newcastle this afternoon (pictured)
LONDON: Demonstrators hold placards during The People’s Assembly Cost of Living Crisis protest today (pictured)
Mr Lewis had spoken to Sky News when he said the Government cannot ‘completely nullify’ the impacts of global pressure on energy prices, but ministers will put in supportive measures where possible.
‘I know, even this week, where I live we’re on oil-fired heating, I’ve seen that change directly in the price of oil – and actually the ability to get it,’ he said.
‘At home, my family went a few days where we had no oil, just waiting for the suppliers and seeing the very big increase in price on that.
‘We can’t completely nullify the impacts of the global markets and global pressure, for example, on energy, which is obviously the main focus at the moment for most people.
‘But we will put in the support that we can, as and when we can, as I say, looking… across the board at what we’re doing with the public’s money.’
Protesters frustrated with high energy bills and government inaction congregate in Newcastle this afternoon (pictured)
LONDON: Demonstrators hold placards during The People’s Assembly Cost of Living Crisis protest today (pictured)
Laura Pidcock, national secretary of the People’s Assembly, who spoke at the Liverpool protest, said: ‘What people are experiencing is intolerable.
‘No matter how patiently we explain that Government inaction over soaring energy and fuel costs and sharply rising food prices is deepening poverty, misery and hunger, it is met with at best indifference and at worst more of the same.
‘The truth is they are so wedded to the economic system we have, comfortable with a hands-off approach, that even when markets are obviously failing us, they continue with business as usual.
‘We tell them about children going hungry and the Government shrug, politically speaking.’
Protesters gathered at a cost of living protest in Belfast today after Friday’s lifting of the energy price cap (pictured)
Labour has repeatedly called for a windfall tax on oil and gas companies. It says this could generate funds to help struggling families and pensioners with energy bills.
Mr Lewis told Sky News that such a levy may sound like ‘an attractive option’ but it ‘won’t necessarily have the impact on global prices that people think it will’.
‘I do understand why people look to that… Labour have been making this point for a while. What they’re not able to answer… is the reality of what is happening in the energy market,’ he said.
‘First of all, this is a global pressure, we’re seeing this around the world. So what we do with companies here in the UK won’t have the impact of changing the whole global energy market prices, but we should also remember that those energy companies here in the UK are already paying about 40% tax – that’s roughly double what most sectors in the UK economy are paying.
Demonstrators hold placards as they attend a protest, outside the gates of Downing Street, against the increase of the cost of living today (pictured)
A demonstrator holds a placard during The People’s Assembly Cost of Living Crisis protest in London today (pictured)
People protest about the rising cost of living during a demonstration outside Downing Street in London today (pictured)
‘They employ hundreds of thousands of people in the UK… they are investing hugely in more work to develop more energy and produce more energy. They need the income that they have to make those investments, and the part they play in the economy paying salaries.
‘So a windfall tax on those companies won’t necessarily have the impact on global prices that people think it will. It can have an impact on some domestic prices by taxing higher a sector that is already very, very highly taxed.
‘So although… it sounds an attractive option, in the wider economic context it doesn’t really work. And that’s why we’ve looked at what can we do that will have a beneficial impact directly for people in their pockets.’
Gerry Carroll from People Before Profit speaks to protesters at a cost of living protest in Belfast today (pictured)
Protesters near Downing Street in central London, at The People’s Assembly Against Austerity protest today (pictured)
Meanwhile, shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh said Labour would put in ‘legislative measures’ to ensure oil and gas companies did not pass the cost of a windfall tax on to consumers if necessary.
‘I think we do need to see legislative measures if North Sea oil and gas companies, petrol retailers, are experiencing record profits and not passing any of those savings on to customers,’ she told Times Radio.
Further protests are being planned by the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) in the coming days after the sacking of almost 800 P&O seafarers.
On Friday the Insolvency Service announced that it has launched formal criminal and civil investigations into the circumstances surrounding the redundancies.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said there were ‘clear grounds’ to detain P&O’s ships.
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