Nobody living in the fifth richest country in the world should work full time and not have enough money to live on, not be able to heat their houses or feed themselves. The fact that poverty rates are so high in this country (and getting higher) with people who work is an active choice made by our leaders. It’s a disgrace.
In the same way, benefits should not raise at a rate lower than inflation on a consistent basis so as to push people further into poverty in the fifth richest country in the world. Again, that’s an active choice by our leaders to punish people who are on benefits. And to perpetuate the cycle of poverty while claiming they support social mobility. The austerity introduced by Cameron and Osborne started all this, punishing women, single parent families and disabled people more than anybody else. An active choice.
Energy companies should not be able to make billions and billions of pounds profit while driving large parts of the population into fuel poverty. It just shouldn’t be allowed. Again, an active choice by our leaders to support it.
We have a government who want people in poverty. That’s the only conclusion you can draw.
I grew up in the 80s and we didn’t have central heating, we had gas heaters and often only one room was warm. We slept in jumpers with hot water bottles. But that was common then. Every generation should be in a better position than the last one. At the moment we are going backwards. People in this country should be able to afford to heat their houses in 2022.