Joshua Allerton, Black Country Socialist Party
The planned 20% increase in energy bills is likely to be scrapped in the budget. But whatever the Tories do, we still can’t afford to pay.
£400 government support for all households is coming to an end. Workers receiving the £66 a month from the Energy Bill Support Scheme can’t afford to add it to their bills.
Those paying £100 a month will see their bills rise 50%. That’s another £50 to add to your other rising monthly expenses.
As our bills go higher, so do the energy companies’ profits. Shell’s profits soared 211% in 2022, despite windfall taxes. EDF Energy made £1.1 billion in profit in 2022.
Super-rich Tory prime minister Rishi Sunak can afford to have the electricity infrastructure near his constituency home upgraded to heat his new 40 foot heated pool.
Our energy bills aren’t a standalone crisis. With the rising cost of living, workers know that paying the same unaffordable energy bills is not enough.
Throughout winter, many were forced to choose between heating and energy. This will continue.
Hybrid workers weighed up going into the office, simply because it was warmer. They scrambled trying to feed their families and pay for their always ever-increasing transport costs just to get to work. Rail fares are rising 5.9%.
This is a capitalist crisis, and it’s down to workers to end it. The fire at home may be out, but the fire that drives the workers’ movement must keep burning.
We must nationalise our energy companies, and bring them under democratic workers’ control. Don’t let the energy bosses run away with a penny in their pocket.
