Take action to tackle the cost of living crisis and protect our environment!
The Autumn Statement and the Warm this Winter campaign
On 17 November, the Chancellor of Exchequer Jeremy Hunt presented the government’s Autumn Financial Statement to the House of Commons. Changes announced by the Chancellor in the Autumn Statement will leave millions facing fuel poverty and make it even more important that we push the government for action on the energy crisis.
Find out how you can take action.
Against the backdrop of high inflation, rising interest rates and weak growth, the Chancellor announced £55 billion in tax rises, and a squeeze in public spending, aiming to tackle rising inflation. He also announced a package of targeted financial support for the most vulnerable families and those on the lowest incomes.
How does the Autumn Statement affect the Energy Price Guarantee?
The Energy Price Guarantee scheme was initially announced by the Truss government, and will be continued by by new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, but only until April next year.
The Chancellor confirmed that the universal financial support given to households through the Energy Price Guarantee this winter to cap the unit cost of energy to £2,500 will stop in its current form from April 2023.
From April 2023- April 2024, the universal financial support given to households by the Energy Price Guarantee scheme will continue, but will elevate the cap to the unit cost of energy from £2,500 to £3,000- asking households with typical energy use to pay £500 more per year.
This means that, according to the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, 8.6 million UK households will be in fuel poverty from April.
How you can take action – The Warm this Winter Campaign
The WI remains very concerned about the impacts of the rising costs of energy and living which will leave many facing an incredibly tough winter this year and into the spring.
That’s why the WI is supporting the Warm this Winter campaign which brings together environmental and poverty groups to campaign for action from the government.
The campaign is calling for:
- Emergency financial support for those in need
- Keep fossil fuels in the ground
- A national programme of home insulation
- Rollout of more renewable energy sources.
Reminder: Day of Action on Fuel Poverty, 3 December 2022
On 3 December, the Warm this Winter coalition is calling on groups and communities to come together to deliver Warm this Winter events and actions in villages, towns and cities across the UK.
We understand that December can be a particularly busy time for WIs and WI members, and so instead of organising a specific event for the Warm this Winter campaign, we are encouraging you to take one of these simple actions:
- Include a 10 minute speaking slot about the Warm this Winter campaign into your existing December WI meeting. This doesn’t have to be on the 3 December itself, you can fit it in whenever your meeting falls. You could bring a letter to send to your local MP about the campaign and ask your fellow WI members to sign it at the meeting.
- Organise a photo action: Take a photograph with the Warm this Winter poster and your WI during your December meeting. Send the photograph to your MP with a letter urging MPs to vote and campaign for measures that keep us warm this winter.
- Join an existing Warm this Winter event in your area. You can find out details of other events being held here.
- Request Warm this Winter campaign resources
The NFWI Public Affairs team have produced a range of resources to help you with the Warm this Winter action.
These include a template letter to your MP; a downloadable Warm this Winter poster; and a briefing on how the Autumn Statement affects the asks of the Warm this Winter campaign.
Email the Public Affairs Team to request the resources: pa@nfwi.org.uk