Rent strikes and bill boycotts in the UK are great in principle - but I’d end up with no electricity and an eviction notice
Since my last entry in this series, a lot has happened, especially in Westminster. Finally, we’re saying goodbye to the pathological liar who has occupied Downing Street for the past two years.
However, I’m under no illusion that whichever Tory takes Johnson’s place won’t be cut from the same cloth. It worries me whether someone like Rishi Sunak, who enjoys phenomenal wealth and is married into a family of billionaires, could possibly have the knowhow to represent the most deprived in our society. This was confirmed by his unwillingness to commit to increasing state benefits by anywhere near the rise in inflation.
Fortunately for me, things are going quite well at work – at a charity that helped me when I was unable to work and struggling. Still, the nature of my mental illness means I would be forced to survive on benefits if I deteriorate even slightly. Meagre benefits that don’t even come close to covering my rising outgoings. I can only hope that won’t happen.
My groceries have rocketed in price by up to 30% over the past month. Even though I work full-time, high food prices mean I sometimes still do need to use the food bank to feed myself and my children. I’m seeing a steady stream of new faces at the food bank, and I fear that as summer gives way to winter – when people have to choose between heating or eating – even more desperate people will file through its doors.
At the moment though, it’s the heat that’s the problem. When we saw temperatures reach record-breaking highs in July, leading to scientists declaring the UK to no longer be “a cold country”. Naturally, poor people like me will suffer the most from extreme temperatures. I rent in the private sector, where private landlords have almost carte blanche to
Read more on theguardian.com
