Are we taking bets yet on when mass civil unrest will begin re. Cost of living?

[UsernameInTheTown]

Having frozen my backside off these past two days as I'm terrified to have the heating on longer than an hour a day, I'm thinking that this will be utterly intolerable come next Winter. Will there be mass civil unrest and the guillotine rolled out while the affluent are targeted by the desperate and those with nothing left to loose?

XDown - It was a combination of masses of people refusing to pay their poll tax ( far too many for them all to be prosecuted), and many councils' incompetence to collect the money properly.

Unfortunately people can't refuse to pay higher fuel bills or petrol/diesel.

Firstly, that's not useful in the timeframe we are talking about for the energy crisis, next general election is in over 2 years time

Maybe. The Fixed Term Parliament Act has been repealed. It could be any time.

Secondly, labour are alienating many women (and men) with their stance on gender identity, and even if this doesn't increase conservative voters, which I think it will, it is absolutely going to decrease labour votes.

When people haven’t got enough money to pay their bills, gender identity concerns are a luxury they can’t afford. The next election will be won or lost on the economy.

@BarrowInFurnessRailwayStation

We need to be more like the French.

Absolutely we do.

We are so bloody passive compared to the French
We just lie down and take it.
It’s obscene that there was no windfall tax to help the struggling with energy costs

The Tories really couldn’t give two hoots about the “Poorer” people in fuel poverty.

I hope people will demonstrate!

@UsernameInTheTown

Having frozen my backside off these past two days as I'm terrified to have the heating on longer than an hour a day, I'm thinking that this will be utterly intolerable come next Winter. Will there be mass civil unrest and the guillotine rolled out while the affluent are targeted by the desperate and those with nothing left to loose?

What would it take for you to engage in civil disobedience?

There are plenty of speculators and spectators online.

Agree it's best in warm weather. We've got a couple of weeks extra days off in June for the jubilee as well, handily enough.

@Mamamia7962

XDown - It was a combination of masses of people refusing to pay their poll tax ( far too many for them all to be prosecuted), and many councils' incompetence to collect the money properly.

Unfortunately people can't refuse to pay higher fuel bills or petrol/diesel.

That went on in Scotland for a full year before it was imposed on the rest of the UK, but it did nothing at all to dissuade the Tories from continuing the roll out. The non-cooperation continued well after Poll Tax had actually been scrapped, and no doubt was a significant factor in arrears being written off. The reality is though that the Tory government only re-thought the actual concept itself once it was clear it wasn't just arsey Jocks refusing to cooperate with a Troy government, but that it was so deeply flawed that English people themselves were willing to riot and destroy English cities.

Had is stayed an exclusively Scottish tax and Scots had destroyed the centre of Glasgow or Edinburgh, there's no way that would have prompted the complete rethink the London riots brought about.

It won't happen

In all of history the British have never opted for mass civil unrest.

It makes me utterly sick that so many idiots lent tories their vote last election and this Is what we have to put up with now because of it! Those idiots should be ashamed of themselves, the tories are not a party for the working class, they are totally out of touch with any human being that doesn't have money to roll around in! And as for idiots also saying that they can't possibly vote for Labour because of gender crap has clearly lost the plot and also clearly doesn't have a worry in the world because no matter how much you dont like certain answers being given by keir starmer/Labour Party etc you hold your nose and vote for what really makes a difference to your cost of living, your children's lives and the cost of your income, not rich arsholes who couldn't give a shit whether you and your children freeze or starve to death! Unfortunately there won't be riots people clearly like being fucked over by tory bastards!

I am really really worried about how anyone on an average income or less is going to ride this shit storm.

We have foodbanks to stop people starving (dear God the fact our country needs to have them is disgraceful) but what can be done to stop people literally freezing to death. What a miserable existence many people are going to have over the next year. As if Covid wasn't awful enough.

It's enough to make people who feel they have nothing to lose to create civil unrest to be listened to.

There was the general strike in 1926

And those riots in 2011

Not only are we supposed to just shut up and put up being freezing, hungry and sitting in the dark but also the tories have given themselves a nice wage rise of £2200 which buy rights should have been used as part of a kitty to curb the energy crisis for millions in poverty, but no they want a little bit extra to spend on themselves because their wages and expenses just don't cover their expensive lifestyles enough! It is beyond belief

@Libertaire

This is Britain. We don’t do ‘mass civil unrest’. We leave that sort of thing to the French, who are actually prepared to stand up to their rulers, rather than just complaining about them. We just moan about how badly the country is run, then go out and re-elect the Tories.

bang on

I was in London for the last riots, really close to me we were asked to leave Sainsbury's

It was hot, my overriding memory was the helicopters and the warmth

Re rioting over this I’m not sure we will. Maybe it needs a collective impetus - ie a single event

Many of those suffering actively ticked Tory in 2019. They didn’t care at that point believing any negatives would only impact others. There’s a saying that ‘every generation has to learn why you don’t vote Tory’. But in any case I’m sure the tabloids will pin things on the green lobby, or refugees in dinghy’s and people will run to vote Tory next time.

I’m what you call affluent, but neither DH nor I caused the energy crisis. Focus your anger at the right target but sad to say I’m betting the Tory’s will just change leader, create some faux culture war and you’ll vote for them again. I no longer give a shit, when it gets too much I’ll just move my family and assets somewhere else. Sick of people voting against their own interests and not taking responsibility for it.

ToothGrinder

Agree it's best in warm weather. We've got a couple of weeks extra days off in June for the jubilee as well, handily enough.

A bit of rabble rousing! Are you suggesting we choose then to riot? As the royal family represent the hideous history of aristocratic greed that would seem fitting?

We aren't really the type to protest en masse

I blame the class system. We have a history of being invaded, downtrodden and subjugated, for hundreds of years. I think people lack the confidence and are too miserable to do anything. We still believe we have to defer to our betters and the political system supports this. Monarchy and the House of Lords are two examples. The system is grossly unfair and outdated. Society needs to be more equal. The French have stronger unions as well as more confidence in speaking out. We're nowt but a bunch of spineless moaning minnies.

Honestly I'd be more than up for mass civil disobedience rather than full on unrest. The problem is no one wants to be the first one do they?

Wasn't there a strike in Japan where the bus drivers refused to take payment for their services but continued to run them? Something like that sounds wonderful.

I had French friends who complained about how incredibly passive the French people were... They thought the Brits were much better at getting social change done.

anyway, I predict....

the ppl with truly no money will be offered support or completely default & never care that they couldn't pay their bills

The ppl who care about paying their bills won't riot.

PPL like me won't be hurt financially so will shrug our shoulders.

Is my best prediction.

There have been protests today

If people can't afford food and are relying on food banks then how on earth are they going to go without heating as well? What about people not being able to afford their rent or mortgage due to fuel poverty and rising costs of living? The government aren't going to help everyone who needs help.

There could be a backlash coming because this is starting to affect the comfortable middle classes. Already they are seeing their young people finding it impossible to get well paying jobs despite all the educational advantages they have had.

However, I think as long as house prices remain high (and the government seem happy to use any means whatsoever to achieve this so I think it’s inevitable that they will) we won’t see huge discontent. Everyone who has anything is just too terrified of losing it.

And that's deliberate

Fibreglass insulation is known to increase dampness and have effects on Respitory function.
This has been known for decades.

Cavity walls were invented deliberately, to allow walls to breathe.

As to rioting, it will happen once all the bills come in and the price hikes of goods happens.

Imported food and goods will cost more as transportation costs soar.
Home grown food and goods will soar in price as demand will outstrip supply.

I reckon early autumn , for a riot, once the heating gets turned on again.

@ivykaty44

Extinction rebellion isn't helping either

They want warm homes for all and the government to fund this through upgraded insulation etc

You suggesting people would rather be cold?

you are thinking on insulate Britain