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Here is today's Mancunian Way:
by BETH ABBIT - Fri Aug 26, 2022
Hello,
I hope you’re all well and ready for the Bank Holiday weekend. The weather’s looking decent for the next three days - good news for anyone heading into town for Pride. For everyone else, enjoy the break, however you spend it.
Sadly we can’t dodge the most pressing matter of the day - the energy price cap - so we’ll be discussing that in today’s newsletter. Let’s begin.
A rainbow of umbrellas create a canopy on Canal Street as the Pride Celebrations begin
Bills, bills, bills
You will, of course, have heard the news that the energy price cap is rising by 80.06% - sending average household bills rocketing to £3,549. No doubt it will send a shiver down the spine of most. Literally by the time we reach winter.
Despite this frankly scary news, no government minister made themselves available to speak to Radio 4’s Today programme this morning. Or BBC Breakfast. Or GMB.
Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi later put out a statement acknowledging the ‘stress and anxiety’ the price cap will cause and blamed Vladimir Putin for driving up prices as ‘revenge’ for the UKs support of Ukraine.
Mr Zahawi says he is working ‘flat out’ to develop more options to support households. Feel better? Me neither.
Andy Burnham says the government's response this morning was ‘not good enough’. “People will be terrified by this news and need to hear from those supposedly running this country,” the Greater Manchester mayor tweeted.
Mr Zahawi’s assurances will likely be cold comfort to people like Francesca Jay, who had to ask the Aldi cashier to stop scanning her shopping when the bill unexpectedly reached £50. She was overwhelmed when a stranger paid for the last few bits on the conveyor belt, totalling £6, explaining she had been in the same situation herself.
You can check how your coming energy bills may look by clicking here
I doubt the Chancellor’s words will resonate with the parents skipping meals so they can feed their kids either, or the families relying on ‘kettle boxes’ because they can’t afford to cook.
Not that turning off cookers and fridges is anything new. After all, the Manchester Evening News first reported the emergence of kettle boxes in 2014. And the problem most certainly predates this article. Nowadays, people like Angela Speak are using candles to light their home because they just can’t afford the electricity.
Even those helping the most needy are struggling. Tricia Reilly-Hurst, a trustee of Perry’s Pantry Foodbank, recently told reporter Hana Kelly she may soon need the service herself. “We’re going to see more people just going out, sitting with a coffee lasting three hours so they don’t have to put the fire on,” she predicted back in April.
And I’m sure the coming months will be busy for Tunde King, from E-ACT Blackley Academy. He spends his days working with families living in 'frightening' conditions. Staff had to take hot urns from the school to help one family, who were surviving with no gas and no money and needed to warm their baby's bottles. "Tunde visited and found the baby screaming and the house freezing. We stayed late until they got the help they needed,” headteacher James Hughes told reporter Emma Gill.
These stories are now common. Week in, week out, the M.E.N reports on normal people living in poverty. But even those living relatively comfortable lives will be badly affected by the price cap rise.
In Sedgley Park, where householders had the highest bills in Greater Manchester before the recent rises, one mum recently admitted to being ‘scared stiff’.
Michelle Barratt says she never used to think about her shopping. Things have changed. “If I wanted something I would put it in the trolley. Now I’m looking at if I can get it cheaper elsewhere,” she told reporter Paige Oldfield.
This morning, Martin Lewis predicted a further 51% rise in January. He has warned that people will die this winter because of the price cap rise. The money saving expert told the Today programme the situation is ‘a catastrophe, plain and simple’.
“You could easily be paying £5,000 or £10,000 a year if you have high usage,” he said.
Meanwhile, North Sea oil and gas producer Harbour Energy announced its profits rose 1,100%, to almost £1.3billion in the first half of 2022. In the same period, British gas owner Centrica made £1.3bn, BP, £12bn, and Shell, £17bn.
Of course it's not just households that will suffer from this situation. Sacha Lord, our region’s night time economy advisor, says businesses could easily fold because of the price cap. “For months we’ve been calling for an energy price cap for businesses as well as households. On the back of this morning’s news, the horse has already bolted. Now, without an urgent energy reduction/rebate, it will be lights off for many in my sector this winter,” he tweeted.
Earlier this week, Scottish Power’s chief executive Keith Anderson presented a two-year, £100bn energy bill freeze to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng. Whether or not the new government takes on his plan remains to be seen.
It's true that global politics has a part to play in this crisis. But it’s not as though the UK government hasn’t had fair warning. Whoever becomes our next Prime Minister needs to address the problem urgently. If they fail to act, people will face destitution on a scale not seen for decades.
Weather, etc.
- Saturday: Overcast changing to sunny intervals by late morning. 22C.
- Roads closed: A57 Eccles New Road westbound for roadworks from Stott Lane to Gilda Brook Road until September 12.
- Trams: No service on Metrolink between Eccles and MediaCityUK due to engineering works until October 21.
- Trains: Cancellations across the network on Avanti West Coast.
- Today's Manc trivia question: When was the first Manchester Pride held?
Answer at the bottom of the newsletter
Manchester Pride
If you want to know what's on, where to go and who to see at Pride this weekend, we've got you covered. The team will be reporting on the music, the parade and the people as the event takes over the city centre.
Manchester headlines
European feel: The Ancoats streets around Cutting Room Square have been closed for six months. The town hall wants to gauge public opinion about permanently pedestrianising the area. It comes after the square off Blossom Street was temporarily pedestrianised during the pandemic - a move councillors said created a 'European feel'.
Nicked: A statue of Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has reportedly been stolen in his home town of Byrne, in Norway. A 10ft statue of the striker disappeared overnight. Tore Sivertsen, who commissioned Kjetil Barane’s log sculpture, said: “Some have complained it’s too ugly though, let’s face it, Erling is not a pretty guy. But I was still shocked that someone decided to steal it."
Strike: Royal Mail workers have formed a picket line outside the delivery office in Oldham on the first day of this summer's 'biggest strike'. More than 100,000 postal workers were due to walk out today. The Communication Workers Union said its members are taking industrial action for a 'dignified, proper pay rise'. More walkouts are planned for Wednesday, September 8 and 9.
All aboard
This image from inside Manchester Piccadilly station, in 1986, shows the lost Casey Jones burger bar in the background.
Worth a read
Beau-Azra Scott used to sing sad songs in the basement of a Gay Village bar. Now they run a Pride event for thousands of people. This story about Beau is a lovely read from Adam Maidment.
That's all for today
Thanks for joining me, the next edition of the Mancunian Way will be with you on Tuesday. If you have any stories you would like us to feature or look into, please email: beth.abbit@menmedia.co.uk
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The answer to today’s trivia question, when was the first Manchester Pride held, is 1985.
