To wonder how people will financially survive?

[Cupcakeicecream]

To think that many people are struggling already. Food price rises, gas and electric costs. The general cost of living due to inflation from either brexit since the pandemic and Ukraine war. But come on some people were struggling before any of those factors. Financially people will be pushed to breaking christmas will be off the cards general life will stagnate no meals out leisure activities cinema socialising new clothes treat foods. The threat of blackouts and wondering how we will pay bills to keep warm or keep a house running. Never mind buying food the price of it plus the large gaps on shelves. Winter will be miserable. It's becoming impossible to live in this country.

Does anyone know ways to live off grid in a normal semi? I'm not even joking.

Solar panels and a generator for light, wood burning for heat? curtains open to get the benefit of street lighting fir as long as we still have street lighting?

Almost everyone is in this same position, it just hasn't dawned on them yet.

This energy crisis is going to cost the country more than covid.

Some of the country has been struggling with the last two energy price rises, if the government does nothing more, In October the normal lives of a significant chunk of us will become completely unaffordable.

In January that will be true of most of us. People saying they're keeping their highlights and soft play no matter what don't seem to realise that hairdressers and soft play won't be there if nothing is done.

The government has to act.

Plans will exist because we've known that gas would become unaffordable for decades.

Because it's this government they will tinker around the edges first then do too little too late

@Confusednewmum1

But help is coming.

It has to or our economy will completely collapse and with it our country.

Other countries are doing useful things.

After doing a few stupid things that don't help the government will be forced to do something that does.

We just have to hold on and hope it's not like covid where they waited three months to do it.

There is absolutely nothing whatsoever in the past performance of this government to suggest any of that is remotely plausible.

And that is entirely down to the fact that as far as UK democracy goes, the electorate hasn't shown any interest in anything else for a generation at least.

Surely people should be proud of the UK ? After all, this is how we chose to suffer. I'm surprised that MNetters of all people don't realise that while you can't control the world around you, you can control your response to it. Voting - and keeping - this shower of shits in power is how we have chosen to respond.

Wont the government's response to be similar to how it behaved during covid @SerendipityJane? The scale of the crisis will force them to do something eventually, just as it did in March 2020, after doing nothing and pretending we could carry on as normal during a global pandemic for the first three months of 2020.

The current government advice to "Endure for Ukraine" "Put a jumper on" and that using energy is "a personal choice" reminds me a lot of the "Carry on as usual and just wash your hands" days.

@verdantverdure I agree. If this was only going to affect the very poor the government would do nothing. But it will affect a hell of a lot of people, public services, schools and businesses. A lot of hospitality businesses will go to the wall.

Liz Truss will get in and she said she’ll cut VAT which is supposed to help each household out by around 1.5k

I've just looked and my electricity company is predicting my annual bill to be 2kish but when I ask for fixing options the best they'll do is £450 a month for a year which is well over 5k so presumably means they expect large increases after Jan too. We cannot afford that and this is just for electricity, not gas.

Both I and my H work from home a lot. We'll be looking for jobs with offices to go to I think. How the companies will pay for their offices to be heated remains to be seen.

I think a lot of companies that were not keen on home working will be changing their mind now.

Any business that a) uses energy or b) requires people to have discretionary money to spend will go out of business if the government does nothing. That's pretty much everything isn't it?

Schools won't be able to pay their bills so children will be sent home. Pubs and restaurants won't be able to afford to open and hardly anyone will be able to afford to go. It will be an energy lockdown, effectively.

Businesses serving the rich will still be fine. I am sure Micgelin star restaurants will be fine. Your local Indian restaurant is a different story though.

The 2kish is based on what prices are known, so that's the the October rise only.

The October rise is about triple what most people on a dual fuel direct debit we're paying last year.

January is just about quadruple,

It's probably going to get close to 6x the amount we're used to in April and 8 or 9 times next October. Maybe 10x.
99% of the country can't pay that.

Good, they never should have added it in the first place on something that is a necessity

Not be a tinfoil hat wearer but I agree with a pp that it's effectively another lockdown of sorts. It does make you wonder if there's something behind it we can't see. My family can just about afford to weather the storm but not if we end up out of work which is a real possibility.

I saw in sky news it's only a 5p vat cut Liz Truss is talking about.
Will they stop all the vat on energy bills ?

That will be worth all of £25 off my £500 a month bill. (Used to be £100)

The proposed 5% VAT cut is on everything, across the board, so worth considerably more, and will apply for everyone.

According to Richi Sunak the vat cuts she is proposing will cost 30 billion plus , so less money for other things.
I'm not sure it's a great idea, but then she's the one with the Oxford degree etc.

It's deck chairs on the titanic.

How's an extra £25 going to help if you can't afford the extra £400?

Getting the energy retailers through 12 months of this energy crisis is going to cost £150billion unless they nationalise it.

What they're talking about is just uselessly tinkering around the edges.

Honestly I have no answers. I was listening to the head if the BofE saying he has to keep raising interest rates as if he doesn’t we will end up with persistently high inflation which will be a disaster. So we are in effect into another two year lockdown I think. No one will have any disposable income, job cuts, recession and now repossessions.

tbh this is no where near a lockdown, even the using the word to describe it is enough let alone the reality of it

Not everyone will have enough disposal income to spend as freely as before but a large proportion will.

They will spend on food , shelter and basic clothing . Lots of people will be cold or only heat one room .
Sky will be cancelled . Phone contracts will go to sim only. Restaurants and coffee shops will close . It will be horrible 😢

Liz Truss has ruled out any more handout apparently, this country is fucked.