The Spirit of Swindon: Fuel poverty and just about managing - or not

By Anon - 4 January 2017

Opinion and Features

By Tom Wilkes on behalf of Spirit of Swindon

At the beginning of last year, how many of us were convinced that the UK would vote to leave the EU and Donald Trump would be elected as the new President of the USA? The odds may not have been high yet both events happened and highlighted deep divisions in the two nations.

Although a number of factors are agreed to have been at work in both countries, one which has regularly featured in commentaries is inequality – the sense that the gap between the rich and the poor has been increasing. While some are enjoying greater opportunity and prosperity, more and more people feel they have been left behind or left out. Increasing numbers are finding it hard to make ends meet. ‘The system’ is not working.

Last month, in the first article for Spirit of Swindon we pointed out four things: First, that economic inequality is bad for everyone – the most affluent as well as the least. Second, the UK is one of the most economically unequal developed countries, significantly more so than otherwise similar nations. Third, the strength of our economic base combined with our remarkable community spirit and networks mean Swindon is well placed to address inequality issues in our own town and give a lead to others. Last, but not least, that instead of wringing our hands or saying the issues are too complex, each one of us can decide we have a part to play and do one thing that can make a difference. It may be for an individual or family or it could be for a workforce. Both matter!

Recently we have been hearing about ‘JAMs’ – those who are ‘just about managing’. The line between managing and not managing any longer can be thin. Spirit of Swindon was told the story of a mother with a teenage daughter who works in school as a ‘dinner lady’ and has cared for her own mother, who lives next door, for over 20 years. The central heating in her house only gets turned on when visitors come, the rest of the time she wears lots of layers and blankets to keep warm in winter or goes to bed early. When the electricity runs out she will often live in the dark. She was looking for other work but it has proved hard to find a job which fits around child care for her daughter.

The Government publishes figures for ‘Fuel Poverty’ which are supplied by Local Authorities. In 2013 Swindon estimated that out of 93,120 households, 9,115 could be assessed as ‘Fuel Poor’. This is 9.8% of households; a little better than the national figure of 10.6% but worrying. Given that one in 10 households in our town experience fuel poverty it is very likely you may live near someone who is cutting back on their light or heating in order to make ends meet. Many older people are anxious about the size of their gas or electricity bill. Not everyone will be willing to talk about their fears or how they are ‘just about managing’ – or not – but the one thing you could do this month is find someone who is experiencing fuel poverty and listen to their story. If you already know someone you could contact their supplier to get advice or support on their behalf. Alternatively you could organise an activity at your workplace to raise awareness of fuel poverty and encourage colleagues to visit neighbours. You may have much more imaginative ideas. Let us know what they are by emailing [email protected] with ‘Spirit of Swindon’ as the subject.

Our borough council has produced a very clear way of visualising some of the issues linked to inequality and going deeper into the statistics at swindonjsna.co.uk/pictures

Spirit of Swindon has emerged from a gathering of people who want to raise consciousness of the impact of economic inequality and help Swindon offer a lead to other towns and cities in the UK.

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