Money saving expert thinks civil unrest is coming

[ivykaty44]

There was a thread on mumsnet recently about civil unrest, views seemed to be it wouldn’t happen, the British don’t protest

Martin Lewis thinks hungry cold people will protest

I think he could be correct, what have people unable to afford heat and food got to lose?

Local ones I think, maybe it’s well known person on your housing estate when bailiffs call or she couldn’t afford gas bill and come install pre paid meter and neighbours “kick off”. Then few will have reason attack the police because they have nothing to lose. Like London riots caused by death in custody people see an injustice and feel like no choice but to make feelings known.

People who are really on their ass not likely to be able afford travel or take time off work to attend organised protest.

@JamieFrasersBigSwingingKilt

I like Martin Lewis but disagree with him on this. It's in his interest as a consumer champion to create PR and momentum but the 'cost of living crisis' as terrible as it is for many people, is a global phenomenon due to war and Covid, though made worse for us by Brexit.

If only we had a Government that could implement policies to reduce the impact on people.

I’ve been saying this since 2008-10. It’s only not happened yet because of artificially low interest rates. The question is, when the middle classes riot, what will change? Will BJ and his mates give two shits?

@colosmbo

As soon as we have one case of a person dying from the cold or malnutrition it will all kick off.

doesn't this already happen?

It does, but it happens to Universal Credit claimants, ill people or disabled people.

Errol Graham, starved to death after a DWP sanction, but it was blamed in his depression... That was caused in part by sanctions and DWP

But as it's 'just' the 'scroungers' people ignore it. The government and media have done wonders convincing people that the poor are leaching from everyone else.

If a young female photogenic middle class working person starves to death, maybe that'd get some traction.

@Wagsandclaws

I wouldn't be surprised.

People in a lower income should be able to be warm and eat properly at the very least!

Yes and the guilt over attempting to be carbon neutral doesn't help either

I have been saying for years there will eventually be a period of civil unrest. And with the new policing bill, its going to be ugly. Something will happen, and it'll kick off.

The cost of living crisis is only the start, it's going to get worse come October. There's only so much the public will take.

@colosmbo

I do think there is more anger though which is why Rishi is getting torn to shreds & I've noticed stories on the Royals are less sycophantic.

The elite have been building bunkers for pandemics, zombie outbreaks & civil unrest as they recognise the inequality so who knows.

Klaus Schwab was warning last year or before: ‘we must prepare for angrier people’ - he knew what they had in store for us.

No there will come a point where people will just not accept it. And by that I mean the people on the bottom end of the scale and predominantly the working class or whatever we are called these days will riot.

When you have a government like our current government well why would they not - there is nothing there for the working class.

You have Rishi in his fake car and Boris in his parties that he thought were work. There is no confidence in our government for anyone other than anyone on their pay level or above.

I guess you are one of the 'never the fault of the tories despite 12 years to improve things' crowd

No, there is reason to critice the gov, if people think the cost of living increase is related to the current gov then it is them who are lack of critical thinking, especially as there is qute an overlap of on how we should have locked down harder and longer crowd.

Go look at the riots currently happening in Shanghai, Cuba, India etc etc. The protest will be hijacked by the socialist worker crowd and pumped online with thos offering no substantial practical solution other than 'don't vote tory'

This attack line has been openly shown via disclosed discord chanels, the tories nor labour want to be in power when the correction comes, hence why there is little acknowledgment of suitable alternative policy.

Invest in green is already being done and will take a few years of hurt, worldwide inflation is happening whoever is in power and this simplistic approach of it is because of a tory goverment shows they aren't as much of a critical thinker as they like to make out.

Cold plus hungry plus screwed over by a pandemic = weak.

Not many people would be able to keep it going for long by the time we get to that stage.

The so-called crackpot conspiracy theorists were not far off the mark after all on this one. It has manifested and still the programming (of ridiculing them based on total outliers) is going strong. I sure wish I was living off grid on a smallholding right now!

Apparently in Berlin they’re liberating 200000 houses from the rich, why can’t we vote on things like that?

I absolutely see it coming, but not from where people think. I live in one of the poorest towns in the UK. Benefits is a genuine lifestyle for many, many families here. Everyone's used to having nothing and band together. Everyone knows what they're entitled to and how the system works. We'll be fine here and weather the storm no problem, we all know what we're doing when it comes to poverty and have more slack than a lot of working families.

It's the middle classes who will be kicking off. Both working parents, still needing benefit top ups, payrises lead to being worse off due to benefit cut offs and tax brackets. Even with benefits, working means you aren't entitled to a lot of extra things. How long will full time workers accept going cold and hungry? Not as long as the unemployed by choice I am certain.

Riots won't happen in the cold and rain. In July maybe

First things first, if you have local elections coming up, make sure you are registered to vote. Apparently the cut off date is 14th April.

Then research the best candidate in your area to unseat a Tory/keep a Tory out. A shock at the elections might spark some changes.

Secondly, wear a mask and stay at home if you are ill. Do not consent to the Tories herd immunity plan (it won't work anyway - people are catching it over and over again). Over a thousand people still dying every week and many more being left with long covid. People cannot afford to be off sick, especially those on minimum wage. Let's show a bit of solidarity and look out for each other.

[quote cakeorwine]If people decide to protest, it had better not be too noisy or disruptive or the police will intervene.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-crime-sentencing-and-courts-bill-2021-factsheets/police-crime-sentencing-and-courts-bill-2021-protest-powers-factsheet[/quote]
The police like Priti Patel better than Theresa May, but they pay bills like the rest of us.

Oh and with the poll tax riots there were plenty of middle class people in safe Tory seats protesting. They were used by the media at the time to show it wasn't just "scummy unwashed" students, the "lazy" unemployed and the 'ungrateful' working class protesting.

@Invasionofthegutsnatchers

Riots won't happen in the cold and rain. In July maybe

I remember when Boris was Mayor of London and the riots.

I was shocked people were looting food from Lidl, this time won't be.

Protest all you like, but those of you hoping for civil unrest just get out and do it yourselves or shut up about wanting it. Police and courts will come down very hard on this, and as ever it will be the young and the poorest who will be arrested and imprisoned while the rest of us sit comfortably at home, having incited it.

Martin Lewis is a self-server.

He has found a niche in his own style of 'disaster capitalism' and is TV's answer to second hand car salesmen selling energy and insurance plans. He really is quite odious in real life.

How did the poll tax riots start?

far too many folk smugly saying it was fine to live with ice on the windows -

Absolutely. I hate people who go on about it. I lived it as a child. It was horrible.

@colosmbo

I saw this but it's not really the English way.

Have you forgotten the miners?

In the words of Housemartin's song The People Who Grinned Themselves To Death........................'Even when their kids were starving, they all thought the Queen was charming.'

I haven't read all of this thread so sorry if someone has already mentioned Toxteth, Bristol, the Poll Tax, etc. People in this country do sometimes take to the streets, or protest at Greenham Common.

@thekaratekid

The fact that the need for foodbanks in the UK has become so normalised, so everyday, is an absolute reflection on the disengagement and otherness of the current government. I am in my early thirties and I can clearly remember a time without foodbanks in the UK. They appeared during the recession and never disappeared. The government thought "oh this is OK, the public and charities have picked up the slack, we don't have to fix anything now."

As for civil unrest, I am not so sure. People definitely are angry and struggling day to day. However, I think modern society in the UK has made protesting and unrest too complicated and frankly exhausting for most people to get involved. People have been beaten down by austerity, the pandemic and the general UK shit show to even consider possibly getting involved in any organised unrest. Random small pockets of unrest I can definitely see, but poll tax type riots..no... people are too exhausted and worried about making ends meet. People these days just tend to keep their heads down and go along with whatever as no one has the energy.

Same.

When I was younger there wasnt a trolley in every supermarket collecting for the food bank- I'm assuming that's because there wasnt the need.

It's not normal for there to be this much dependency on food banks in this country.

I think there will be a massive refusal to cooperate..in some way. For many well-off self-employed people, a car is a necessity, and for many, it's a sign of affluence: car for adult child, both partners, a van. If fuel really goes up, it will hit. I think heating costs will make it unviable for certain businesses. More people may take in lodgers to make ends meet and share heating costs. Ironically, it's going to be like the Victorian times in England when people had lots of kids, by design, or anyway pleased to have them, to bring in more family income, from any employment whatsoever. The trend to have fewer kids, and lavish opportunities and private school on them will be reversed.

I think people will trade more in second hand goods and make money and place value on goods at the cheaper end. People will do more kind of bartering.