Category: Cost of Living crisis

  • Bill payers vs billionaires: war windfalls for energy elite as bills set to rise

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    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/bill-payers-vs-billionaires-war-windfalls-energy-elite-bills-set-rise

     A worker collects engine oil as he works at a degassing station in Zubair oil field near Basra, Iraq

    ENERGY firms raked in an excess of £6 billion in Iran war windfall profits this year, it was revealed today as households brace for yet another bill rise at the end of the month.

    Campaigners said profits generated in Britain by these companies equate to over £200 for every household in the country, while a further increase in gas prices is expected in the next Ofgem price cap announcement on August 26.

    Financial results posted by the world’s top energy firms revealed their British profits are only one part of their global profits, totalling £95bn in 2026.

    Analysis from the End Fuel Poverty Coalition (EFPC) revealed the excess profits linked to global energy market disruptions as a result of the US war on Iran, which has increased cost pressures on households in Britain, as well as other countries.

    Researchers looked at financial results posted by BP, Centrica, Chevron, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Iberdrola, Shell and Total.

    EFPC co-ordinator Simon Francis said windfall profits must be considered alongside previous findings saying a third of households are “on the brink of, or are in energy debt.”

    “These price shock profiteers are doing very well out of the Iran conflict, but they are doing little to solve the underlying problems,” Mr Francis said.

    “As people brace for the next price cap announcement on August 26 and a third of households are on the brink of or in energy debt, the energy industry watches the profits climb.”

    …

    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/bill-payers-vs-billionaires-war-windfalls-energy-elite-bills-set-rise

  • Outrage as Thames Water hands finance officer £1m sign-on fee

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    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/outrage-thames-water-hands-finance-officer-ps1m-sign-fee

     Thames Water sign at a water works in Islington, north London, July 23, 2026

    CAMPAIGNERS demanded the government take back control of debt-ridden Thames Water after its “indefensible” decision to give a £1 million golden handshake to its finance chief amid likely drought conditions in large parts of the country.

    Britain’s largest water company gave Steve Buck the huge sign-on fee in July as it continues to struggle with a debt pile of around £20 billion, as well as public outcry over pollution and mismanagement of the utility.

    The payment, which a senior company figure admitted would be seen as “unjust” by customers, was made despite renewed strain on southern England’s water systems, as Amber heat alerts were issued for most of the country yesterday.

    More areas across England are likely to plunge into drought this week, as the Met Office predicted temperatures are to soar into the mid-30°Cs yet again this week.

    …

    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/outrage-thames-water-hands-finance-officer-ps1m-sign-fee

    April 2023 Surfers Against Sewage and Extinction Rebellion protests in St Agnes, Perranporth, Truro and Charlestown which unveiled spoof Blue Plaques to the MPs and Conservative Government who allowed raw sewage to be dumped in the sea (Image: Surfers Against Sewage)
    April 2023 Surfers Against Sewage and Extinction Rebellion protests in St Agnes, Perranporth, Truro and Charlestown which unveiled spoof Blue Plaques to the MPs and Conservative Government who allowed raw sewage to be dumped in the sea (Image: Surfers Against Sewage)
    Image of a burst water main.
    Image of a burst water main.
  • ‘We need to be a cost-of-living government’

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    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/we-need-be-cost-living-government

    New PM slashes fuel bills and culls Starmer deadwood, but peace activists warn that placing John Healey as new Chancellor shows ‘beyond doubt that the military industrial complex is in charge of Burnham’s economic policy’

    Prime Minister Andy Burnham hosts his first Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street, London, July 21, 2026

    WE ARE a cost-of-living government, Prime Minister Andy Burnham told his new Cabinet today after slashing energy bills for millions.

    Mr Burnham acted to cut VAT on energy bills at a cost of £850 million as his first major move in Downing Street after naming a new team purged of deadwood from Sir Keir Starmer’s government.

    However, anti-war campaigners warned that his choice of inveterate warmonger John Healey as new Chancellor presaged a further attack on welfare, health and education.

    In a joint statement, Stop the War Coalition and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament said: “To hand the Treasury purse strings to a man who demanded a £197 billion increase in arms and nuclear weapons spending demonstrates beyond doubt that the military industrial complex is in charge of Burnham’s economic policy. 

    “The arms dealers and generals are undoubtedly now in the cabinet. John Healey’s appointment as chancellor will inevitably mean huge fights over welfare, health and housing to come. 

    “None of the social and economic ambitions — tackling the cost-of-living crisis in particular — that Burnham claims to aspire to will be possible if an ever-growing portion of the economy is devoted to war and destruction,” the two campaigns stated.

    …

    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/we-need-be-cost-living-government

  • Greens Back Aspire’s Legal Action to Stop London Mayor Cutting Affordable Homes

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    https://novaramedia.com/2026/06/24/greens-back-legal-action-to-stop-london-mayor-cutting-affordable-homes/

    David P Maynard | Marissa Davison/Reuters

    Green party-controlled councils have joined a high court legal challenge led by the Aspire party to stop London mayor Sadiq Khan slashing affordable housing in the city. 

    Hackney and Lewisham councils, which Zack Polanski’s party took control of following the 7 May elections, have joined the Aspire-run Tower Hamlets council in its bid to stop Khan from cutting the city’s affordable housing quota from 35% to 20%. 

    …

    Khan said in 2016 that more than 50% of new homes in London should be affordable, but later the same year allowed private developers to limit affordable housing in new developments to 35%.

    His plan to further reduce the quota comes amid an escalating housing crisis in the city, where the cost of rent is a major driver of poverty and child homelessness. 

    …

    See the original article at https://novaramedia.com/2026/06/24/greens-back-legal-action-to-stop-london-mayor-cutting-affordable-homes/