Whether you’re old enough to remember it or not, you may well have heard about the time more than 17 million people refused to pay the Poll Tax in 1989 under Margaret Thatcher’s leadership. This would later lead to the reversal of the divisive tax, and was a rare example of public protest having real political impact. Now it seems something similar could happen in 2022.
Things right now are eerily similar to the late 1980s. That decade began with a fuel crisis, a cost-of-living crisis and major economic discontent. This year, it is predicted that many households in the UK will see an increase of nearly £1,800 to their annual energy bill from October (following an earlier rise of around £700 in April). Enter the Don’t Pay UK campaign: a movement fighting for those who may well struggle to heat their homes this winter.
What is the Don’t Pay UK campaign?
It’s pretty simple: the Don’t Pay campaign is demanding a cut to energy bills. The plan is to get at least a million people to pledge not to pay if the government goes ahead with its proposed hike in energy bills on October 1. Energy regulator Ofgem is set to increase its price cap – the maximum a gas or electricity provider can charge – by as much as £1,800. That hike is predicted to increase our annual bills to around £3,800 by the start of 2023.
Sure, getting that many sign-ups might seem ambitious, but the campaigners say this would put sufficient pressure on energy companies and lower everyone’s costs in the process.
‘One million sounds like a lot, but millions more will already be thinking about whether they’ll be able to pay come winter and afford the other things they need to survive for them and their families,’ writes the organisation on its website. ‘Even more of us will be angry about paying more than double what we used to pay for the same amount we use. Let alone food, petrol and mortgages.’
The campaign isn’t affiliated to any group, and it’s looking for as many people as possible to help out with leafleting and raising awareness before autumn. It says it has 5,748 people helping organising stuff already, and that ‘many, many more’ have pledged to not pay their bills. Today a counter appeared on the campaign website, revealing more than 92,000 people have already signed up.
How do I get involved?
To start with, you can pledge not to pay your energy bill on October 1 if the proposed hike goes ahead. And if you want to get even more involved, you can order packs of leaflets or stickers to hand out at pubs, festivals, along your street, or wherever you reckon you can reach the most people. Plus, you can donate, allowing those promotional materials to get even further. Find out more about that on the organisation’s Get Involved page.
What happens if I cancel my energy bill payment? Are there any risks in signing up?
There are, of course, risks that come with not paying your bills. We don’t need to tell you that you could get cut off by your energy provider, making it a very cold winter indeed. Alternatively, they may try to force you to have a prepayment meter installed instead. There’s also the risk that as companies lose money via the protests, they become more militant in pursuing unpaid debts.
Debt charity StepChange told the BBC that suppliers could pass your details to a debt collection agency – with extra charges to cover the cost of this. There could also be additional fees for late payments. Not paying bills could also damage your credit rating and make it harder to borrow money, the charity said.
The Don’t Pay campaign is discouraging involvement from the 4.5 million people on prepayment meters who face self-disconnection if their credit runs out, as well as those whose energy bills are included in rent and risk eviction if bills go unpaid. Instead, they’re asking for those people to support them via social media.
The group is confident, however, that strength will come in numbers – so the more people who join, the better protected protesters will be. Want to find out more? Read all about the campaign on its website.
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