Warm homes are a human right. Finally, someone almost noticed
We need to talk about the 29p standing charge — the daily fee households pay just to exist near a gas pipe, whether they burn a single therm or none. The new prime minister is considering scrapping the way it works, and honestly? It's the closest a government has come to admitting that warmth is not a luxury product.
Under the proposal, bills would fall for 84% of the poorest households. Read that again. We had the ability to do this the whole time. The infographic makes itself.
There's more: wiping the electricity debts of 2 million households. Imagine, instead of debt collectors, a country that simply said: you are forgiven, be warm. We could have been doing this since the invention of the pipe.
Of course, some will say it costs £3.2bn a year. To them we say: what is the cost of a cold child? (It is not a rhetorical question, we commissioned a study, the study made everyone cry.)
A community heat circle is forming in your area. Sign the petition. There is always a petition.