… on a quiet day, I can hear her breathing

Category: Cost of Living crisis

  • Trump’s Iran War to Spike US Grocery Costs, Threaten Global Food Crisis

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    Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

    Detroit, Michigan, residents picket DTE Energy, opposing the electric utility’s plan to provide power for a proposed $7 billion data center in rural Michigan, on December 3, 3025. (Photo by Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

    Sixty percent of respondents blamed the energy demand of large users like AI data centers for higher household electricity costs.

    It’s been two weeks since Big Tech companies gathered at the White House to sign a nonbinding pledge saying they will not pass on higher utility costs to consumers as the rapid build-out of energy-intensive artificial intelligence data centers sends electricity bills skyrocketing—but polling out Wednesday showed a majority of Americans reject President Donald Trump’s plan to leave corporations responsible for tackling the affordability crisis.

    Those same companies, said most respondents to a survey by Data for Progress and Groundwork Collaborative, are responsible for higher costs that have hit households across the country, and can’t be trusted to ensure life is more affordable for families.

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    Instead, said 61% of respondents, “cracking down on price gouging” from both utility and energy companies would be the most effective way to lower the cost of electricity. In comparison, just 35% said building more energy infrastructure to meet demands was the answer to high costs.

    While Trump has been forced in recent weeks to acknowledge that “energy demands from AI data centers could unfairly drive up” people’s energy costs, as he admitted in his State of the Union address while announcing AI companies would sign his “ratepayer protection pledge,” the president has largely deflected blame regarding the affordability crisis—or denied its existence altogether.

    Trump claimed at a rally in Kentucky last week that “the economy is roaring back,” even as his $1 billion-per-day, unprovoked war on Iran inflamed tensions across the Middle East and drove up oil prices.

    Groundwork said in its analysis of the poll that following Trump’s announcement of the ratepayer protection pledge, “Americans reject this reliance on corporations to do the right thing.”

    Elizabeth Pancotti, managing director of policy and advocacy for Groundwork Collaborative, said that “utility prices are up and consumers know the truth: These price increases are being driven by corporate greed and unchecked AI data center growth.”

    Trump has pushed to accelerate the construction of new data centers by fast-tracking the permitting process.

    Two-thirds of those surveyed said their monthly electricity payments have gone up in the past year, with nearly a quarter of respondents saying they had increased by “a lot.” More than 40% of people said they are now paying between $101-$200 per month for electricity.

    As Common Dreams reported last November, Trump’s demand for AI companies to build massive, energy-sucking data centers in communities across the US has been linked to rising costs of consumers, with the average overdue balance on utility bills surging by 32% in the last three years and states with high concentrations of AI data centers seeing electricity prices skyrocket by as much as 16% from 2024-25.

    Sixty percent of respondents told Data for Progress and Groundwork Collaborative that the energy demand of large commercial users like AI data centers is to blame for higher consumer prices, and the same percentage of people also blamed high compensation for utility company executives. Sixty-three percent of those polled said high profits for utility companies and their investors were to blame.

    Joint Economic Committee Democrats revealed Tuesday that the average annual US electric bill increased by $110 last year.

    A 2022 analysis by Accountable.US found that the nine largest US energy utility companies raked in nearly $14 billion in combined profits in the first three quarters of that year and handed out $11 billion to shareholders while tens of millions of households struggled with rising utility bills.

    Nearly 60% of the 1,149 people polled by the two progressive think tanks also said the public sector must take a leadership role on providing energy, “because the public sector doesn’t collect profits and can pass on savings to customers,” and 60% said the public sector should be responsible for upgrading and modernizing the electric grid because it is a “public resource that should serve all Americans equally, not generate profits for shareholders.”

    Alex Jacquez, chief of policy and advocacy for Groundwork and a former Biden administration official, said the poll revealed that “the people believe in public power.”

    The groups also polled respondents on their opinions of “energy superusers,” including cryptocurrency companies, AI data centers, and AI firms.

    Crypto companies were the least popular, with 54% disapproving compared to 26% who approved. Voters disapproved of AI data centers by a 16-point margin and AI companies in general by an 8-point margin.

    Nearly two-thirds said they believe new AI data centers would raise their energy costs, and voters across the political spectrum opposed new data centers in their communities.

    Grassroots efforts have taken off in states including Michigan, Wisconsin, and New Jersey as community members have rejected the construction of data centers on the grounds that they would consume massive amounts of water as well as electricity, threaten jobs, and take up space that could otherwise be used for affordable housing and small businesses.

    “Voters feel ripped off by the corporations who hold their utilities hostage and are calling on lawmakers to put an end to the profiteering racket,” said Pancotti. “It’s time for regulators and policymakers to answer the call to protect working families from predatory utility corporations and Big Tech.”

    Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

    Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
    Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
    Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it's fun to kill everyone ...
    Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone … https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cNKBW5LLMls
    Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying only 9 days ago that they don't need people to join wars after they've already won.
    Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying only 9 days ago that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9dn3j04lydo

  • ‘We’ve got to have clean, homegrown power that we control’

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    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/weve-got-have-clean-homegrown-power-we-control

    People dispense fuel at the pump at Costco Petrol Station in West Thurrock, Essex. The conflict in Iran has caused a surge in oil and gas prices, March 5, 2026

    Campaigners warn soaring oil and gas prices are pushing households into another cost-of-living crisis

    TEN straight days of high oil and gas prices are pushing households into another cost-of-living crisis, campaigners warned today, as costs suffered from the US-Israel attack on Iran.

    The warning came as Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she had asked the competition watchdog to “crack down” on “rip-off” fuel prices ahead of a meeting with energy bosses to warn against war profiteering.

    Ms Reeves insisted she “will not tolerate” firms exploiting uncertainty in the Middle East for excess financial gain.

    The government has promised to intervene if companies engage in “unfair” practices that would hit customers facing a rise in the price of home heating oil, which is not covered by Ofgem’s energy price cap.

    Rural communities which rely on oil to heat their homes are already being hit hard, according to charity Rural Action Derbyshire (RAD), which runs an oil-buying scheme.

    The heating oil market is closely connected to the daily market for jet fuel, meaning price rises are typically passed directly to customers.

    RAD said homes in Derbyshire saw the cost of 500 litres jump from around £300 to £700-800 in the week after the conflict.

    For an average household, 500 litres lasts two to three months.

    …

    Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/weve-got-have-clean-homegrown-power-we-control

  • What Hannah Spencer’s historic win means for the Green party’s future

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    Louise Thompson, University of Manchester

    The byelection in Gorton and Denton this week has been huge for the Green party of England and Wales, with Hannah Spencer pushing Reform’s Matt Goodwin into second place, and Labour into third. Having one extra MP in parliament may not seem like a big milestone, but this byelection win is record-breaking for the Greens. I believe it shows their potential to be a credible alternative to Labour.

    The Greens had never won a byelection before. They polled less than 7% of the vote (coming in fourth place) in the Runcorn and Helsby byelection in May 2025. And, unlike Reform UK in that byelection, the Greens didn’t just edge this victory – they took nearly 41% of the vote. That’s a whopping 28-point increase on their performance in the same constituency at the 2024 general election.

    The victory has given party leader Zack Polanski the confidence that voters now see the Greens as a viable alternative to Labour, even in former Labour strongholds. He announced to supporters, “this is what replacing Labour looks like”.

    Over the past few years the Greens have really professionalised their party. We saw the impact of this in the 2024 general election, when they quadrupled their number of MPs and finished second in 40 constituencies.

    Under Polanski’s leadership, they’ve developed a more populist edge, focusing on issues such as the cost of living and moving away from being “just” a climate party. They’ve also had a more visible media presence and started to take their communication strategy more seriously.

    Spencer’s win increases the size of the Green parliamentary group to five MPs. In the context of a 650-member House of Commons, this doesn’t seem like much.

    The Greens certainly aren’t large enough to swing any votes, or cause the government many problems. And although they now have more MPs than ever before, they are still only the sixth-largest party group in the Commons. There are still over twice as many independent MPs as there are Greens.

    The win will, however, give the Greens some breathing space. It’s a tough job being a small party in the Commons, and the existing group of four Green MPs have shared a heavy burden of responsibilities in the chamber since their arrival in 2024. As Spencer finds her feet, she will be able to take on some of these policy portfolio responsibilities.

    Having a bigger parliamentary team doesn’t just alleviate some of the pressure to be in the chamber all the time. It also allows the party to be more strategic, and to insert Green voices into more conversations than before.

    This could be through places on committees scrutinising legislation, trying to catch the speaker’s eye during high-profile government statements and question times, or holding backbench debates on more local issues. There is no place for passengers in any small party, so we can expect to see Spencer playing a very visible role for the rest of the parliament.

    The battle ahead

    When the next general election draws closer, the Greens may be grateful of this bigger team. They will want to capitalise on their success in Manchester and continue to professionalise their operations as a national party.

    They are also likely to face more hostility at Westminster. Labour is now fighting a war on two fronts. The party’s embarrassing third-place result in Gorton and Denton – which Keir Starmer called “very disappointing” – will have hammered this home. We can expect to see more attacks on the Greens, including in the Commons chamber.

    Until now, the prime minister has focused much more consistent attention on discrediting Reform. Now, he needs to worry much more about Polanski and the Greens, and will be directing some focus to winning back Labour voters who see the Greens as the stronger party of the left.

    Hannah Spencer celebrates her byelection win in Gorton and Denton with Green Party leader Zack Polanski. Jon Super/Associated Press

    We had a glimpse of this in January, when North Herefordshire’s Ellie Chowns used her occasional opportunity to question the prime minister to ask about water pollution. Starmer turned it into a partisan attack on the unrelated topic of Polanski’s comments about Nato.

    While the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, regularly berates Starmer in the Commons, the Greens rarely take such an overtly partisan approach. Reform MPs tend to participate more frequently in high-profile parliamentary occasions, where they can question the government. The Greens tend to have a more balanced, policy-focused approach, regularly popping up on committees to scrutinise legislation.

    This is helped by Polanski’s position as a leader who sits outside the Commons (a member of the London Assembly). He can delegate the scrutiny of government policy to Chowns and her colleagues, while he takes broader comments about the government’s performance directly to the press.

    This balance will be important as the Greens think about the upcoming local elections. Spencer told the press today that the party can now “win anywhere”, and Polanski predicted a “tidal wave” of Green MPs at the next election.

    To do this, they need to maintain the momentum they’ve created this week. This means keeping a tight hold of the former Labour voters who chose them instead in Gorton and Denton.

    It will be difficult for the party to carry out the same intensive campaign strategy on a more national level, but this sort of intensity is key to ensuring that the left vote goes to the Greens rather than to the other alternatives. Having more party members than ever before will help with this, but they will need to rely on their on-the-ground campaigners to feel secure.

    Louise Thompson, Senior Lecturer in Politics, University of Manchester

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

    Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
    Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
    Keir Starmer refuses to be outcnuted by Nigel Farage's chasing the racist bigot vote.
    Keir Starmer refuses to be outcnuted by Nigel Farage’s chasing the racist bigot vote.
    Keir Starmer says that the Labour Party under his leadership is intensely relaxed about assaulting those least able to defend themselves - the very poorest and most vulnerable.
    Keir Starmer says that the Labour Party under his leadership is intensely relaxed about assaulting those least able to defend themselves – the very poorest and most vulnerable.

    dizzy: I won hundreds of pounds by gambling on this election. I have a bet on the Green party at general election at 66/1.

  • Ministers urged to go further on child poverty as MPs vote to end two child benefits cap

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    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/ministers-urged-go-further-child-poverty-mps-vote-end-two-child-benefits-cap

     Children playing football on the street in Luton, August 1, 2025

    MINISTERS were urged to go further to tackle child poverty as MPs voted on lifting the two-child benefit cap today.

    Labour has faced calls since they came to power in summer 2024 to scrap the Tory policy that restricts child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in most households.

    Seven Labour MPs were suspended by the party after a backing an SNP motion to scrap the welfare measure in a vote in Parliament that year.

    The government had at the time cited spending controls as a reason for not being able to ditch the policy immediately, indicating there would be no change without economic growth.

    But following repeated calls from charities, campaigners and many of the party’s own MPs, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in the autumn Budget last year that the government would move to scrap the policy from April.

    Addressing the Commons for the second reading of the Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill today, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said that the policy used children as pawns and was “all about the politics of dividing lines” between the “deserving and undeserving poor.”

    But Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside Kim Johnson said that she feared the Bill to remove the cap would never have happened without the campaigning of the End Child Poverty Coalition (ECPC) and National Education Union (NEU).

    She said: “It’s a shame that it has taken so long to reverse this draconian cap that was driving hundreds of families into poverty every single month.

    …

    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/ministers-urged-go-further-child-poverty-mps-vote-end-two-child-benefits-cap

    Keir Starmer says pensioners can freeze to death and poor children can starve and be condemned to failure and misery all their lives.
    Keir Starmer says pensioners can freeze to death and poor children can starve and be condemned to failure and misery all their lives.
    Keir Starmer says that the Labour Party under his leadership is intensely relaxed about assaulting those least able to defend themselves - the very poorest and most vulnerable.
    Keir Starmer says that the Labour Party under his leadership is intensely relaxed about assaulting those least able to defend themselves – the very poorest and most vulnerable.
    Keir Starmer explains that he feels no shame or guilt benefitting personally from gifts from the rich and powerful while insisting on policies of severe austerity causing suffering and death.
    Keir Starmer explains that he feels no shame or guilt benefitting personally from gifts from the rich and powerful while insisting on policies of severe austerity causing suffering and death.

  • DWP actions blamed in string of claimant deaths, coroner reports reveal

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    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/dwp-actions-blamed-string-claimant-deaths-coroner-reports-reveal

    The suicide of Tamara Jade Logon after her disability benefits were wrongly withdrawn is the latest in a series of deaths in which coroners have cited DWP failings, exposing a pattern of preventable harm, says DYLAN MURPHY

    A DAMNING coroner’s report has concluded that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) played a significant role in the suicide of a vulnerable young woman, Tamara Jade Logon.

    This case is the latest in a deeply disturbing pattern of deaths where the DWP’s actions have been officially cited as a contributing factor, intensifying calls for a full independent inquiry into the department’s systemic safeguarding failures.

    …

    It is time to end the culture of secrecy and unaccountability that has allowed these tragedies to occur under both Tory and Labour governments.

    The Labour government must live up to its obligations under international human rights law and take action to stop the continuing abuses committed by the DWP against disabled people.

    The labour movement must help build a social security system based on dignity, trust and compassion, and ensure that the DWP is held responsible for its duty of care to every single claimant. The lives of the most vulnerable members of our society depend on it.

    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/dwp-actions-blamed-string-claimant-deaths-coroner-reports-reveal

    Keir Starmer says that the Labour Party under his leadership is intensely relaxed about assaulting those least able to defend themselves - the very poorest and most vulnerable.
    Keir Starmer says that the Labour Party under his leadership is intensely relaxed about assaulting those least able to defend themselves – the very poorest and most vulnerable.