Activism

Warm This Winter: Charities form campaign group to fight cost of living crisis

Greenpeace, Oxfam, Save the Children and other groups are calling for immediate government action as the price cap hits £3,549.

Warm This Winter

Activists protesting against energy companies' profits in February 2022. Image: Alisdare Hickson/Flickr

Leading charities have formed a new campaign group called Warm This Winter to demand action from the government on the energy bills crisis.

Launching on the day the October energy price cap has been confirmed as £3,549, Warm This Winter is calling for support for struggling households, a rapid expansion of renewable energy, and a program of insulation for Britain’s homes.

The group, which is made up of charities including Greenpeace, Oxfam, and Save the Children, also wants the government to stop approving new oil and gas fields.

“We all deserve to be warm in our own home, but right now soaring energy bills mean that many millions of people will struggle to pay their energy bill. It doesn’t have to be this way,” a statement on Warm This Winter’s website read.

“The UK has the means to solve the energy price crisis – but it will take action from the government. We’re demanding the UK government helps those people who need it now and fixes the UK’s broken energy system for good.”

Anti-poverty and environmental charities make up the bulk of the 23 groups currently signed up to Warm This Winter. Others involved are the RSPB, End Fuel Poverty Coalition, petitions group 38 Degrees, and the Women’s Institute.

It joins a growing number of coalitions formed to demand government action on the escalating crisis.

Don’t Pay UK, which is aiming to muster one million people to refuse to pay their bills on October 1, says it has signed up over 100,000 people so far and is holding a protest outside Ofgem’s London office on Friday evening.

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has launched the Anti-Poverty Coalition, which includes The Big Issue, warning that half the UK’s population could fall into fuel poverty. As a last resort, Brown has called for energy companies to be temporarily nationalised if they cannot provide affordable energy.

Support the Big Issue

For over 30 years, the Big Issue has been committed to ending poverty in the UK. In 2024, our work is needed more than ever. Find out how you can support the Big Issue today.
Vendor martin Hawes

Recommended for you

View all
This man let 12 strangers give £100,000 of his money away. Governments should follow suit
Philanthropy

This man let 12 strangers give £100,000 of his money away. Governments should follow suit

Housing estate plagued by mould, damp and dire conditions. Now, residents are fighting back
tower hamlets
Housing

Housing estate plagued by mould, damp and dire conditions. Now, residents are fighting back

'He's like a caged animal in the flat': Meet the parents fighting for an adult social care revolution
Parents and children take part in a sensory parachute exercise at Linden Farm
Social care

'He's like a caged animal in the flat': Meet the parents fighting for an adult social care revolution

Big Issue founder John Bird celebrates vendors at House of Lords – and vows to help end destitution
National Vendor Week

Big Issue founder John Bird celebrates vendors at House of Lords – and vows to help end destitution

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Here's when UK households to start receiving last cost of living payments
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Here's when UK households to start receiving last cost of living payments

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know