A first-time mum-to-be is scared of the future as energy prices continue to rise.
Lauren O'Hara, who lives in Dingle, is just one of the many faces that will be seen this weekend protesting as part of a Warm-Up protest - a demonstration urging the government to take action over “sky-high” fuel prices and “forced” instalments of prepayment meters in the UK.
While everyone has their own reasons for joining the campaign, Lauren's is because she will soon have a child to think about. The teacher said she is “horrified” at the state the country is in at the moment and believes it will only get worse if action isn't taken now.
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She told the ECHO: “People who work full-time are having to rely on foodbanks and elderly people can't afford to heat their homes. I fear that rising levels of poverty are adding to our already spiralling mental health crisis and I feel scared for the future.
“We only put the heating on as a last resort. We will add extra layers and sit under blankets first. We have our first baby on the way this year and it angers me that the money we could be saving towards this is going to energy companies who are reporting record-breaking profits.”
Lauren claims in December 2021, her energy bills were costing her around £62 per month for “two of us in a small house”. However, in the space of 12 months, she said her bills are now “extortionate” and standing at just under £200.
She said: “We have drastically cut back on our energy use. I used to have a little bit of money left over at the end of the month to add to my savings, but now I find I'm having to rely on my credit card on the week before payday.
“It is so important to let the government know that we will not stand for this and to make our voices heard. Their job is to serve us - we vote them in. If enough people take to the streets and join collective action such as payment strikes, we can force their hand.
"The Tories got into power when I was 18. I am now 30. For my whole adult life, the quality of life in the UK has been getting steadily worse. I think many people of my generation feel numb and defeated; they simply cannot imagine a future where things are better. But it is possible and it will happen.”
This weekend, protesters will be bringing placards, and banners, and encouraging the public to support and join the campaign. Meeting at the Pier Head on Saturday, January 21 at 11:30am, the protesters will march to an indoor public space.
The protest will be one of several Warm-Ups taking place across cities in the UK including Birmingham, Edinburgh and London. The campaign is supported by Don’t Pay UK, Fuel Poverty Action and Extinction Rebellion, among other groups organised under the Warm This Winter Coalition.
Don’t Pay UK is calling for energy bills to be capped at the rates they were in October 2021 before the “massive price hikes” started and for an end to the forced installation of prepayment meters. The group claims “thousands of the most vulnerable in society risk dying as a result of being unable to heat their homes”.
Moreso, Fuel Poverty Action is calling for “Energy For All” - a universal, free amount of energy to cover people’s necessities like heating, lighting and cooking. This would be paid for by ending all public money going towards fossil fuel subsidies, windfall taxes on energy company profits and implementing higher tariffs on excessive, luxury energy use.
The group’s campaign coordinator, Stuart Bretherton, said: “In the world’s sixth richest economy and one of Europe’s largest producers of oil and gas, failing to meet people’s basic energy needs is a political choice. Energy For All is a proposal for a system that works for people and the planet, not profiteers or polluters. The polar opposite of this is struggling people having their homes broken into, or meters switched remotely without warning to a method of payment that could prevent them from heating their home this winter.”
Lauren was involved with the last Don’t Pay UK protest which was held at St John’s Shopping Centre. She recalls being “overwhelmed with support from the general public” with workers coming out of the centre to ask for leaflets.
She said: “It was a very positive and inclusive atmosphere with people from different ages and backgrounds coming together. If you can’t attend this weekend, visit the Don't Pay UK website and consider pledging to the campaign.
"Otherwise, make as much noise as possible: write to your MP; lodge a complaint with your energy company; request to switch to monthly bills to ensure that you are only paying for the energy that you use. Energy needs to be nationalised and we need to see much more investment in renewable energy sources.”
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