How about this from Greg Jackson, head of Octopus energy? He says UK bills are rising from £15bn to £75bn – equivalent to 9p on the basic rate of income tax: “Customers shouldn’t be asked to pay the price of gas which is being weaponised by Putin.” Crikey: 9p in the pound on income tax for everyone, including those who don’t pay income tax. That’s a lot of money. And this from the Citi investment bank: UK inflation is set to hit a staggering 18.6% in January (the highest in half a century).The bank predicts that the energy price cap will soar to £5,816 in April, leading to inflation “entering the stratosphere.” The current energy price cap is currently a not-exactly-cheap £1971. We are headed not so much towards choppy waters, but an economic hurricane.
Given my limited understanding of economics, and numerous other subjects, I rely on experts to inform my point of view and the experts informing me say that it will not just be the usual suspects – namely the old, the disabled and the poor, who are often the same thing – who will be suffering this time round. This time, the relatively affluent middle classes will feel the pain and a lot of pain it will be.
An energy cap of £5816 sees your average punter paying around £111 a week – a week – for energy costs. Unless you are – hmm: let me see. Oh I know – someone like Rishi Sunak, Boris Johnson or Liz Truss, this will hurt. And in previous blogs we’ve already been through the effects that would have on the economy. When we stop spending, someone else stops earning and the entire supply chain is hit. Then the economy goes into recession, people lose their jobs, people get poorer and lives and dreams are crushed.
Politicians must wake up and smell the coffee. Labour has proposed that the energy cap should be held at its current level of £1971 at least until next spring. They have demanded parliament be recalled with immediate effect to put measures in place to protect people. Chancellor Sunak did it during Covid with the furlough. Now chancellor whoever-it-is-today should do the same. Boris Johnson is on his second holiday in two weeks so he’s not interested but now, surely, he needs to get his lazy arse into gear. And the two embarrassments running to succeed Johnson, Sunak and Liz Truss, need to put the country first instead of literally doing nothing but campaigning to be PM. I hope we never forget this government’s behaviour as the economy is set to hit a massive wall. Where were they when they were needed? Whose side were they on? Well, their own, obviously.
No one is fighting on the streets yet, but if the government, almost certain to be led by Truss, carries on with its policy of doing nothing, people will be soon enough.
