A major protest has been planned for Saturday, September 10 at Market Square from 1pm until 4pm to put pressure on the government to act and help thousands across Nottingham who will be affected by rising energy costs. The protest entitled 'not taking it lying down,' is calling on people to 'refuse this treatment and stand together in protest.'
Energy prices are set to soar in October as the price cap increases just as the weather gets colder and are set to reach £4,200 by 2023. People across the UK are already struggling as prices have dramatically increased due to the cost of living increase.
The outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson admitted that the cost of living support that the government has pledged to help families is not enough but has failed to provide any immediate measures to combat rising costs. He has stressed this will come down to his successor who is expected to be announced around the same time as the price increases.
Read more: Protest planned outside E.ON's Nottingham offices as energy costs soar
The protest is being organised by the micro-gallery, Wall to Wall which operates a small art exhibition space in Carlton. Owner Kelly Ann Holmes was prompted to do something.
She said: "This is something that is going to affect everyone and decimate local businesses. It's really worrying and it's going to kill people. It's terrifying for older people or those living alone on a fixed income. How are people supposed to find this extra money as everything has already gone in the supermarkets?"
"I live with and care for my elderly mother who is a vulnerable adult. It's really scary and we are letting people get away with this. I wanted to channel my anger into something proactive.
Things are going to continue going up and small businesses are going to start to fail as people can't afford to extra coffees or things. I have a small gallery which I have opened in my garage but people aren't buying art at the moment. This is going to ruin people. It's not fair."
It comes as energy companies are posting record profits amid people struggling to pay their bills. The protest comes as energy companies have reported record profits in recent months as Shell posted record earnings of $11.4bn over three months between April to June. E.ON reported £1.2 billion in profit with adjusted earnings before interest and taxes were £1.8 billion with reports of £1.28 billion in the previous year.
Kelly highlights that they are not doing this from a political standpoint as 'this is about us as a society coming together' and stopping the apathy when it comes to rising costs.
"If we let this continue, it will get out of control. I'm being helped by people who aren't political or activists but everyone is really panicking. People might be listening to the talk around energy costs increasing but won't realise that everything is going to increase not just one bill," Kelly said.
"All businesses use energy and if their bills increase then they still need to make their profits."All businesses along the chain are going to put their prices up and that only gets passed on to one person, the customer. Everything is going to go up and everyone is going to be skint."
The protest will follow another which is set to take place on Friday, August 26th at 5:30 pm outside the E.O.N offices in Trinity House. It is being organised by Nottingham People's Assembly to highlight the stagnant wages yet rising costs.
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