To think Britain is heading towards economical and social collapse

[Cheesecakeandwineinasuitcase]

It feels like we are living in strange times, having come out of a global pandemic, the war in Ukraine and now the cost of living crisis and the added pressure from Brexit.

Ive barely slept tonight, worrying about what might happen with energy prices. I’ve heard the energy price cap is expected to rise to £3,850 in October. A few months ago I’m sure they predicting it would be £2,400 and that was horrifying enough.
Now I’m seeing people on the energy support Facebook group talking about monthly energy costs of £900 per month. It feels like this is escalating out of control very quickly and the Government are allowing us to sleepwalk into a disaster.

I realised tonight that if the price cap does keep increasing at the rate it has then what will happen to all the businesses once people can’t afford their energy bills anymore? They will probably increase their prices to try and cover their costs but that will drive down sales even more as people won’t have as much money to spend anymore. Eventually it will only be the essentials that we can afford so that surely means that all the other businesses won’t be able to afford to keep going?

Then what? Unless our government actually get their heads together about this then the whole country will end up in financial ruin and we will see the breakdown of society. Why so much focus on the leadership contest, surely that must take a back step.

Ive just checked the parliament website and the House of Commons has now gone into summer recess so they won’t meet again until September! I think this is an emergency situation and that they should be called back to focus on this. They get paid enough.

I think it’s outrageous that they can claim for utility bills on their expenses when there are people out there with young children who are worried about being cut off and put onto a prepayment meter.

Agree with everything here^

It also reminds me of the lockdown argument that shutting the economy down was saving lives/going to work was effectively killing people. I remember those with their fingers metaphorically in their ears about the consequences of economic damage and how closing down vast sectors of the economy for extended periods would result in more lost lives.

But there was little inflation.
Aside from house prices fuel ,food and bills haven’t changed for years. It’s only recently they have gone nuts.

house prices had huge inflation though

@GrinAndVomit no if you think that you are playing into what this government and its friends wants, companies don’t have to raise prices, their shareholders and company execs need to be made to take less which they are more than able to do.

One of the biggest root causes of problems in this country outside of the energy crisis - as I don’t think the OP is referring to just that. There’s all sorts that is just spiralling out of control or just not working as it should be which means we’re going to fare worse than other countries in terms of the affects of global issues such as energy, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. And it all comes down to wages. I will find you some good articles which show the growing disparity in shareholder and company exec pay in comparison to workers over the past 10+ years when I get a minute.

Read books
Look online
See how other countries fare in wild inflation times.
Ask people who have lived through it in other countries.

Op, this is the reality of a real war in Europe and a Cold War with Russia, there are going to be huge consequences for years to come, and for some countries like Germany, France and some parts of Africa particularly dependent on Ukrainian grain it is going to get far far worse. France are already limiting energy use whilst we were there.

The U.K. is not as dependent on Russia for energy (4% approx I believe) and our food prices have been artificially low for decades compared to elsewhere.

The issues with China and repeated lockdowns creating delays and supply issues and everywhere is struggling to get back to pre pandemic levels but we will get there.

The treasury are producing plenty of doom and gloom reports but many economists believe we can avoid recession with the right policies. Truss seems to have a plan - let’s see what happens.

Are you suffering from anxiety op? Because some of your posts seem to be quite catastrophic when in reality we are set for a rough winter, but the medium to long range forecast is positive.

Yes it’s not fun living through a pandemic and now a war on the doorstep ( be glad you don’t live in Ukraine) but the important thing is to focus on what you can do to help your own situation Take on a second job or income stream, look at your options to sell or rent out stuff you don’t need, consider scaling back and having a home made Christmas this year etc. Positive action will help you feel more secure.

But it isn't.
I really don't know why people keep posting this rubbish (usually Tory supporters who want us to believe its bad everywhere) when its common knowledge France limited electricity and gas to 4% and 14% respectively & that includes business as well, again limiting price rises further down the chain.

Electricity prices in Spain are falling & are already lower than UK.

I've always considered France to be one of the more expensive places to shop and eat out in Europe but after spending 3 weeks there recently, its in most instances cheaper than the UK, Diesel was around 30p per litre cheaper.

Personally, i was amazed by how much cheaper cycling equipment and clothing is, compared to UK.

Covid and Ukraine has been used by UK businesses to raise prices, often by far more than is necessary.

Meanwhile the Tories engage in "A Maggie Thatcher clone competition"

It's tragic that we didn't take more action on climate change, like insulating homes. The current govt messed up the last two funding schemes and cancelled better building standards. These both would have helped families need less energy in the first place AND reduced emissions. A rare win-win.

@ivykaty44 inflation isn’t going to raise if people have pay increases, in fact if pay rises then it’ll help see off a longer harder recession

You dont run a business do you?

Because the world is more than just the UK, Spain, and France 🤔

Renewables alone aren't the answer, they simply can't provide the energy we need, even with massive growth in that area. Renewables are unreliable. I predict a medium-term increase in nuclear.

Mothballed, “under maintenance” and decommissioned nuclear power stations are not the same as functioning ones.

it’s all good and well promising the people cheap, subsidised power - but have they hit it?

see France/Belgium for further details.

fwiw - bojo rich? 😂 he’s got about 17 kids to pay for and you can just imagine him come November staring hard at his British Gas bill wondering wtf, when Carrie strolls in with a few rolls of wallpaper under her arm and tells him she’s arranged a party at claridges for just a few hundred of her closest friends.

Yep @AndreaC74 just spent 2 wks self catering in Spain shops (which included more luxury items as on holiday) were around 20% cheaper than our weekly shops here and everything was much, much better quality. And with things like meat and fish I tend to buy high quality organic meat and wild fish, couldn’t believe how much cheaper and tastier the meat and fish was.

There is some good news on that front. Contracts were awarded for increased offshore wind generation that will add 7GW of extra capacity by 2026. Renewables via wind and solar are the fastest way to increasing capacity. The weird thing is that it's a positive story for the government - you'd think that they could do with one and it slipped under the radar:

www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-07/uk-support-price-for-offshore-wind-falls-to-record-low

This.

The new education bill.

The new policing bill.

We are losing our rights and becoming an increasing nanny state all the time people are being scared by energy rises etc.

It's the bringing the fear to people that designed to them make them more compliant to the removal of rights are they'll feel they have no choice to trust the government.

So many people forget they work for us.

@Festoonlights no one should need to get a second job, disgraceful comment and attitudes like these are pushing us further and further down as a society.

Because the world is more than just the UK, Spain, and France

lol, constructive reply.

But your right, its about what is happening here in the UK, saying its worse in DCR or Mali is irrelevant isn't it.

so how about you focus on that instead?

I really don't know why people keep posting this rubbish (usually Tory supporters who want us to believe its bad everywhere) when its common knowledge France limited electricity and gas to 4% and 14% respectively & that includes business as well, again limiting price rises further down the chain.

That's not a big help faced with blackouts.

www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/can-france-ensure-its-energy-security-this-winter/

Whether we like it or not, the problem is global.

It's a missed opportunity that the recent governments did nothing to help insulate homes.

There is some good news on that front. Contracts were awarded for increased offshore wind generation that will add 7GW of extra capacity by 2026. Renewables via wind and solar are the fastest way to increasing capacity. The weird thing is that it's a positive story for the government - you'd think that they could do with one and it slipped under the radar

What does it matter?

Electricity is traded as a commodity, the UK could be a net producer and we'd still pay super high prices unless we stop that industry model... which we could if we wanted too.

I don't think it'll be collapse, and I don't think it'll be worse than the 1970s (when Britain needed an international bail out)

That was largely stoked by an energy crisis (OPEC) which hit everywhere but which had worse effects here. High inflation, strikes characterised the decade too.

And now those who weathered all that are being told it wasn't that bad really. That's what your DC may well be saying in 40 years time of this, whilst expecting you the pensioners to pay more and receive less.

Because with climate change, that's the likely direction of travel.

I hear you OP. Dh is an NHS doctor. Every day is a fucking nightmare for him. Ever since the austerity measures introduced by this Government he has had to watch the hospital he works in and his department go to shit. Now the NHS is literally imploding, and as well as Covid, an increasing aging population (with complicated healthcare requirements), a broken social care system,(again underfunded), there will now be a bigger demand on hospitals because of the energy crisis.
As for those on here saying “well I’m alright Jack” well bully for you! But how about opening your bloody eyes and noticing the people that aren’t?

I just can’t see how a normal civilised society can function once it reaches a point where the majority of people run out of money for food and people start dying. There will be mass panic and social unrest.

We’ve been through this before. In the 2008/9 crash the majority of people were using credit cards to buy food. When the credit ran out, they stopped paying rent/mortgages. Many simply abandoned their homes and went to join the homeless tent cities. Food banks/soup kitchens sprung up. We managed to hold on to jobs and home so our DC were sheltered from it.

I was made homeless during the 1990s crisis and was living in a tent. Dumpster diving and begging was how I fed myself.

A child during the 1980s crisis and remember being very hungry, cold, dirty etc.

There will be protests and unrest, but I don’t think there will be mass panic per se. And society won’t actually collapse.

Global?
Or Western world?[which is being systematically challenged, and has been for 20 or 30 years, very quietly].

Will look up whether the situation is truly global? There are something like 208 countries.

He's predicted to earn millions, he'll be far higher earning after leaving office.