A Stirling councillor has called for public facilities to throw open their doors as ‘warm banks’ this winter to support people freezing at home as energy bills spiral.
Bannockburn ward independent councillor Alasdair Macpherson said vulnerable people facing being unable to heat their homes should be able to “get a heat and a plate of soup” in a warm public building – including local libraries and community centres.
The call comes as Councillor Macpherson has also launched a campaign urging residents to cancel direct debits for bills in a desperate bid to convince energy firms to reduce their costs to an affordable level amidst the cost-of-living crisis.
He said: “I have already contacted council officials with a view to opening public buildings to create ‘warm banks’ this winter.
“Public buildings are heated using public money and we should consider opening them up so people can go in to get a heat and a plate of soup. I have had lots of offers of help to establish these.”
However, this week Stirling Council said it has no plans at present to provide heated spaces for vulnerable residents but was looking at a “resilience support” plan ahead of winter.
The former SNP councillor, Mr Macpherson, has vowed to “put pressure on the Tory Government and the energy suppliers” to lower energy costs for families living on the breadline.
The Don’t Pay campaign has been launched nationally, but Councillor Macpherson has opted to set up a local campaign, Don’t Pay Stirling. It encourages people not to pay bills estimated by some to skyrocket to an annual bill of £4,200 by January.
Speaking to the Observer this week, Councillor Macpherson added: “The purpose of the campaign is to try and put pressure on the Tory Government and the energy suppliers by getting a million people to pledge ‘We will cancel our direct debit from October 1st if we are ignored’.”
Click here for more news and sport from the Stirling area.
“I have spoken to solicitors and specialists in personal debt and so I’m very aware of the legal consequences of backing the Don’t Pay campaign,” he continued.
“Any consequences of cancellation are less than what will happen if people don’t cancel. While the fat cat executives migrate to their yachts in the winter, millions of our citizens will die of hypothermia unless drastic action is taken.
“The favourite to be the next Prime Minister Liz Truss stated at the weekend that there would “no handouts to help millions of struggling people through an already worsening cost-of-living crisis this winter.
“That’s why I’m supporting the national Don’t Pay campaign, as only a mass non-payment campaign will force change.”
Oil and gas giant BP announced profits of £6.9 billion from April to June this year – more than triple the amount it made in the same period last year.
Similarly, Centrica, the parent company of British Gas, increased their profits to £1.34 billion – a 500-per cent increase.
Shell recorded energy profits this year of £9.5 billion.
Councillor Macpherson estimates that the profits of British Gas alone could pay for a reduction of bills by £115.
As part of the Don’t Pay Stirling campaign, residents have been urged to stop their payments by October 1.
However, charities and other legal and financial experts have warned that such people risk being cut off from their power supply. Fuel companies can obtain a court warrant to enter their home to fit a prepayment card meter, with a requirement to pay off arrears or be disconnected. And the protesters may be saddled with a debt record and negative credit score.
In response to Councillor Macpherson’s comments regarding the Conservative party, Neil Benny, leader of the Conservative group at Stirling Council, said: “The truth is that the Conservatives are doing a great deal to help, but more needs to be done and more will be done.
“Already £37 billion has been made available to help families including cost-of-living payments for those on benefits, pensioners and disabled people.”
Stirling’s MP, SNP’s Alyn Smith, has called for Parliament to be recalled from its summer break to address the cost-of-living crisis.
Following Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng’s comments that people will have to wait another several weeks until the new Prime Minister is in place for any further cost-of-living support, Mr Smith said: “There is an economic and social catastrophe unfolding before our eyes – this is not the time for policymakers and decision-takers to be sitting on their hands.
“Despite his humiliating summer, Boris Johnson remains the Prime Minister and must recall Parliament to begin tackling the rapidly deteriorating situation.
“Each report is more worrying than the last.”
