A new campaign called Enough is Enough has built a coalition of MPs, union officials, and community organisations to tackle the cost-of-living crisis. Inflation has seen the price of fuel, food, and most notably energy increase steeply, with more rises set for later in the year.
The group’s objective is to pressure the government into doing more to subsidise bills, as well as increasing take-home pay for workers. Enough is Enough recently released a campaign video featuring contributions from the RMT’s Mick Lynch and the Communication Workers Union’s (CWU) Dave Ward.
On Tuesday, around 150,000 people had signed up to the campaign. Union leaders said the fact so many people signed up so quickly showed the popularity of the initiative.
Read more: Average household energy bills to hit £355 a month this winter
Who is behind setting up the campaign?
The organisations and individuals involved include the CWU, Tribune, ACORN, Fans Supporting Foodbanks, the Right to Food Campaign, Zarah Sultana MP, and Ian Byrne MP. Enough is Enough says it will be holding rallies, organising community groups, and attending picket lines.
What are the aims of the Enough is Enough campaign?
The campaign lists five key aims:
- A Real Pay Rise
- Slash Energy Bills
- End Food Poverty
- Decent Homes for All
- Tax the Rich.
Dave Ward, general secretary of the CWU, said: “The depth of desperation that exists in working-class communities across this country has been unrepresented in British politics for far too long. Enough is Enough are going to turn today’s war on workers into a conflict against every piss-taking boss, parasite landlord and corrupt politician in this country.”
Rail, Maritime and Transport union assistant general secretary Eddie Dempsey added: “It should worry the political class and the chief executives of this country that this campaign represents millions more. Ordinary people in this country are grafting harder and harder for less and less.
“They’re trying their best to make ends meet and are getting rewarded with unreasonable bills, real-terms pay cuts and soaring rent. We’re giving the cowards advance warning that we are going to take our country back from the brink.”
Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said it is “fraudulent” to suggest there is a “magic wand coming out of Whitehall” to fix the cost-of-living crisis – regardless of who is prime minister. Presented with projections that energy bills could rise to the region of £4,000, he told reporters in Huddersfield: “There’s not a single person who is offering a solution to those significant rises, not the Labour Party, not Rishi Sunak, not anyone else.
“That scale is not entirely going to be solved by the Government. I think that’s what people need to understand. That’s the honest truth. We are all feeling it in our pocket. And the idea there is a magic wand coming out of Whitehall, no matter who is prime minister, including the Labour Party, is fraudulent to say so.”
READ MORE
-
FairFuelUK slams 'profiteering' as it says petrol and diesel should be 25p a litre cheaper
-
Asda has been criticised for its bright yellow budget range but many people think it's great
-
Cost of living crisis making more people use cash, Post Office figures show
-
How to get £5 off your petrol at all UK stations with this new deal
-
Five easy ways to use less water at home - and not just in a drought
