On Monday 19th September at 1:00pm, Fuel Poverty Action will go to Downing Street to hand in this petition demanding Energy For All - a free band of energy to meet the basic needs of every household.
We will be gathering nearby at George V's statue, Old Palace Yard, Westminster from 12 noon or earlier for the 1.00pm appointment. Keep an eye out for more details on our website, and here.
The petition you signed has reached well over 400 thousand signatures. That’s nearly half a million! We have wondered, ‘When will be the best time to deliver the petition? When is the best time to share it with those in charge?’
They say they are ‘doing everything they can to help’, whereas actually, they are giving us handouts ‘to help pay the bills’. In other words, they are feeding a negative and very vicious circle. They are giving us money that will go directly to the energy companies (when/if we pay our bills). Those companies have made billions in profits, this year alone. Billions in profit while ordinary people can’t pay their bills? Something is wrong. It’s time to change the system.
It doesn’t have to be this way! There is an alternative: Energy For All would create a whole new system that not only takes care of those of us on lower incomes but also encourages others to use less and therefore to work towards saving valuable planetary resources. Energy For All will also incentivise the government to insulate our homes and switch to cleaner, cheaper sources of energy.
We will hand in our petition at Downing Street on Monday 19th September 2022 at 1pm. And we invite as many of you as possible to BE THERE. Final details for the event are yet to be determined but we plan to gather at (latest) 12 noon at George V's statue, Old Palace Yard Westminster to speak out - to each other, the media and the government. If you’d like to speak briefly about your personal experience please let us know and we’ll try to slot you in!
Further details will follow but we wanted to let you know now, so you can make time – if you can – on that day, and so you can spread the word to friends and family, and any organisation, group, trade union, or religious body you belong to (groups can sign on here). The idea of a free band of energy already has the support of the Trade Union Congress, Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC), Just Stop Oil, Tax Justice UK, and many other, smaller organisations. A recent national poll showed it is supported by 75% of the UK population, with just 10% opposed to the idea.
So far, we don’t have any support from Members of Parliament. We are working on that, and expect it to change! But you and others who signed the petition have a crucial role to play in this. MPs only pay attention to correspondence from their own constituents.
Please take a minute to urge your own MP to send a message of support to us at fuelpovertyaction@gmail.com, or join the event on the day.
Handing in the petition will demonstrate that there are hundreds of thousands of people who can see that Energy For All is a solution and who are determined to see it in place.
Having reached over 408,000 signatures is a huge achievement. There’s still time to add a few more! Why not use these last weeks to reach out to your friends and push it up a bit nearer to half a million?
One of our next steps, when this petition is in, will be to open a new one, this time a parliamentary petition, rather than with Change.org. When we get 100,000 signatures on that one, the government is required to give time for a Parliamentary debate.
Keep an eye out here for further updates - There will be all sorts of action happening in support of this demand.
Love to All of You,
Diane
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