Anger at forth coming COL crisis

[MyCheekyEagle]

Of course I understand that the ME war is going to have an impact on oil prices & that will get passed onto the already struggling families; but when things stabilise again & maybe oil prices reset the greedy corporatez never pass this saving back to customers fo they. They just think as we've got used to these new higher prices we'll just keep them there. This thought has given me the rage most of today!
Just needed to vent somewhere, thanks if you listened..

Doesn't make me wrong.

Oh, was that when Gordon Brown sold off our Gold Reserves at a bargain price? I think it was.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-13902013/The-22bn-cost-Britain-Gordon-Browns-gold-sell-price-precious-metal-continues-soar.html

I’m a single parent to an autistic teen who has a reverse sleep pattern. She frequently has the fire and/or heating on all night! It’s costing me a fortune.

Why don't we limit home ownership to UK residents which would free up houses and reduce house prices a bit? I don't think the new leader of Iran should own prime real estate in the UK.

What low-carbon power sources are there suitable for individual dwellings other than solar? Are new-builds going to have windmills or something?

ETA: Sorry, just realised that that reads as though I'm being sarky, and I wasn't. I'm genuinely interested, living in a property that faces the wrong way for solar panels!

@thecatsgotyourtongue "The root cause of much of our problems are down to Thatcher and never setting up North Sea oil for our long term benefit, all given away via tax cuts"

Oil and gas isn't a bottomless pit, it runs out eventually and isn't a 'long term' asset.
Those of us that were working at the time were very glad to have the tax cuts.

My wish is to live long enough to see the oil in the Middle East run out and then the effluent will really hit the windmill....😁

And that!!!

Agree the rising cost of everything is depressing, I will be reining in spending this year a lot. To top it off my pension is rapidly losing value because of this war, and I hope to retire earlier than 67.

They don't! Where are all the hotels where we park the unemployed people? Although we might have less unemployed people if we did make them live in a hotel two to a room with a stranger - I bet they'd find a job pretty fast.

It must be bloody tough, and anxiety-inducing, so I feel for you.

I'm far from a fan of Starmer et al, but I don't think this is really down to them. I'm saving my rage for the idiot Trump and the bastard Iranian govt who started all this shit.

You've probably done it already, but if you haven't, it would be worth checking if you're eligible for some Universal Credit. The new rates will be effective from April, so even if you're not eligible now, you might be in a few weeks time.

Illegal immigrants aren't entitled to benefits, or social housing.

@FeelingAntsy In the 2010s the British govt gave up our facility to store gas, so Britain is totally dependent on other nations (could previously buy cheap and store, like other European countries do). This is 100% fact.

This. Blair's government got into the mindset of efficiency for efficiency's sake and it was carried on by those two twats Cameron and Osborne. Paring everything back is all well and good until you have a situation when you need those things you got rid of because they weren't being used. Some things should always be there, just in case. See also hospital beds, and Covid.

Successive governments for the last 50 years have absolutely shafted this country. What has been done to Britain is criminal.

Err yes, they do - https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/send-them-home-fury-britons-wait-years-housing-while-migrants-set-get-250k-flats-1739898

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/uk-villagers-angry-refugees-housed-084602783.html

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/12/15/illegal-migrants-to-receive-gold-star-nhs-dental-care/

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachmentdata/file/1010952/MoCLocalauthority2.pdf
see para 4 & 5 on this one. We also provide free translation services.

It's a nonsense claim anyway. Probably done by the same people who do their "calculations" on net zero.

The Norwegian SWF is about $2 trillion. If you assume that the UK and Norwegian sectors of the North Sea are similar in terms of resources (the UK is a bit smaller) then you might assume the UK could have amassed a similar fund on a similar timescale.

The difference is though that in Norway there are about 6 million people, and the UK about 60 million, so 10x the number of people.

So while the SWF equates to about $350K USD per person in Norway, it would equate to about $35K USD per person in the UK. Over about 30 years of production.

So even if Fatcher managed to steal all of it (which would be hard because she's been out of power/dead for a considerable proportion of the last 30 years) it still only equates to about £1K a year per person in cash that she managed to steal.

I think even the most mathematically challenged can figure out that although £1K per year extra money per person would be nice to have, it's hardly going to transform the UK into the land of milk and honey.

In the 80s, when interest rates were very high, I had to do 3 jobs and have a lodger in order to cover my mortgage payments and bills.

Its certainly worrying. The rise in groceries, energy, water, council tax... and now fuel, which will in turn raise many other consumables.
Families that are already struggling will not be able to cope.

I agree but perhaps with all that's going on perhaps suspend and definitely come back to it.

Brits really don't know how good they have got it! They get tens of thousands in cash handouts and then almost everything free. Then complain if there is even a hint that someone is getting a freebie that might be missing out on!

I need more than a free anti immigrate newspaper articles to persuade me.

Personally I would run a scheme where we give the long term unemployed £10,000 to fuck off to another country. We would save an absolute fortune.

I agree,
A single friend of mine had to take in a lodger (in a 2-up 2 down) to pay the bills, in the 80's.
A couple I knew ended up in negative equity and had to rent out their house and live with one set of parents.

The Chinese mostly burn fossil fuels in the manufacturing of products to sell to the West. If we stopped buying, they'd stop manufacturing.

I understand and correct me if I’m wrong.
One property he owns is opposite the Israel Embassy in London and another is a big fuck off house on The Bishops Ave aka Billionaire’s Row, I believe he is a multi billionaire as well.

Oh I also blame The Orange One.
Thanks for the advice regarding UC. Unfortunately I'm not eligible as I don't have children. It just pisses me off that, like many, I'm working my arse off just to pay my rent and bills. Everything is going up, but wages remain the same

Yep I wonder if that’s slowing down IRGC proscription.

The price of oil generally and heating oil is down today. It may continue to fall if Trump can carry on deceiving the markets that the war is over or near its end. It will rise again if the situation doesn't resolve. It's still higher than it was in January but a lot less than it was yesterday.

tradingeconomics.com/commodity/crude-oil

Yep, that's what they would like you to believe but British Gas profits were £72 million in 2022 then they rose massively to £750 million in 2023 (post the start of the Ukraine war) then in 2024 they were £3.5 BILLION.
Now in that time, I don't know about you, but my bill has risen... What a coincidence?

They are taking us for mugs and gaslighting us, just like the supermarkets do, into thinking they aren't exploiting us.

It's an absolute scandal but it's one that is continuing and is allowed to continue because of all the vested interests and the power of the shareholders.