To ask you all to Guy Fawkes it up with me regarding the Energy Price increases?

[Justshabbynochic]

Energy price increases...no one is doing anything about it. It's unjust, immoral, and greedy. These are resources which should be available to us all freely, and yet there are people who will freeze in their homes this Winter.

I've mithered over it, chewed on it, thought about it a lot. Lost sleep over it. What, if anything, can we, THE PEOPLE, do about this?

And then it hit me this morning...

"Remember, remember the 5th of November..."

Why don't we make them remember Bonfire Night for another reason...the day we all stood up against the greedy Energy suppliers, the day we made the government take notice of us, that we will NOT sit here and let vulerable people freeze to death in their homes.

The goverment should be investing in alternative energy resources, not allowing a select few to benefit from the price increases.

Mumsnetters, I need your help.

I'm just a lowly healthcare assistant on maternity leave and Mumsnet is very dear to me. I've been here a long time (Pombears, Yoni, River of Sweetcorn, Save the kittens in the bin, etc.) and I know if I'm going to get anywhere with this, it's going to be with you lot.

Here is what I'm proposing...on the 5th of November, from 6-8 pm, we turn everything off. No electricity, no heat. No TVs, hairdryers, radios, radiators, or refridgerators.

We flip the switch.

It's not about them losing money, it's about enough people all over the country doing something all together to show them we have a voice, our numbers count, and we can make a stand. Make them notice us.

Most of us will be out celebrating Bonfire Night so I'm hoping it wouldn't be too inconvenient for two hours that evening.

It's only gonna work if I can get lots of support, and to this I know I am risking proper humiliation if no one gets behind me.

Is anyone with me? And if you are, could we start brainstorming ways in which to get this out there? Social Networking, word-of-mouth,etc.?

I just don't want to sit back, moan about it, but not do anything about it anymore. I'm hoping some of you feel the same way.

JerseySpud - that's exactly what I was going for .

I don't think it's reasonable to expect people to turn of things like freezers for two hours. What if things start to defrost?

#nolighty ?

If you keep your freezer and fridge door shut everything will be fine for a couple of hours.

Sorry, OFF.

Herisson - most power cuts last for longer than 2hrs, and my freezer has always been fine afterwards.

Really?

Yes it could be good - but I too would be concerned about my freezer. Could I do it for one hour or wouldn't that count?

OK. Sorry, I am probably being stupid then.

(Or rather, most power cuts I've experienced since becoming responsible for my own freezer have lasted for longer than two hours...)

I'm all for it.

Sometime things like this DO work. I was very involved/started a campaign for a a change of a law using social media and it took almost 3 years but we did it.

#bonfireblackout sounds great. You need to get a newspaper to run a story. The guardian is a good one, or the spectator or something. Get MNHQ involved too. Mumsnet is a very powerful lobbying tool at your disposal here.

Honestly it'll be fine, we had a power cut lasting much longer than 2 hours, it was closer to 4. We just kept the door shut and nothing defrosted.

I don't think we've had a power cut since I owned a freezer so I honestly don't know how long it would take for things to spoil!

I do like the idea apart from my pointless worrying about things defrosting!

I''ll support you even though we've already been shafted this year by our only supplier of electricity on the island and the states housing took out our coal fires the cunts

And how exactly will they notice these people?

A load of people sitting in the dark won't make a blind bit of difference to the energy companies.

You won't be able to quantify how many people have taken part so it won't be an effective protest.

There will be little of interest for the press to report so it's unlikely to garner much media attention to exert pressure.

I'm all for some type of protest, but not in this form. It's pointless.

Switch offs have been a damp squib before.

It doesn't even demonstrate public anger, just public slightly miffedness.

Honestly, I don't think this would make a blind bit of difference to either government policy or the energy companies prices.

In fact it sends the message that if this is the harshest response the public has they might as well double the price increases.

Don't worry about it, Herisson - I had to think for a minute, but I'm absolutely sure that we've had several power cuts of longer than 2 hours and the food has always remained fine. I think freezers are pretty good at keeping the cold in as long as you keep the door shut - after all, £10 cool boxes can manage it in high summer for several hours, and they start off warmer and aren't built anywhere near as well.

Who's to say this can't only be the beginning, sallykitten? At least someone is doing something.

If we get this out across Twitter and the rest of the Social media ASAP we could make enough of a fuss to a) get noticed and b) just maybe start something bigger off.
Do ewe have a Twitter linky yet or we just tweeting with #bonfireblackout?
Could we all change our pics to the V for Vendetta mask for the day?

Right I'm creating the FB page now...

It's a shame there's so little time until Bonfire Night - we can't hope to achieve much. I love the idea of a #SolsticeSwitchOff though, where communities get together for big utilities-free parties and refuse to waste energy on unnecessary heat, lighting, cooking etc on the longest night of the year...

Ok, if you search for Bonfire Blackout on Facebook it should be there...I'll figure out how to post the link in a minute and write more on it. But please join and share!

Sound like a bloody good idea for the Winter a solstice Nom.

Solstice! Don't know what's going on with the random a's at the moment!

I'll go for it. I'll probably be at work though unless I can coerce them into letting me have it off, which can be done!