anyone in London able to take hot chocolate to this Bermuda shorts Downing street 24-hour vigil to highlight fuel poverty Three protesters will spend 24-hours standing outside Downing Street from Saturday 20th 8am- Sunday 21st 8am in just bermuda shorts The Dying for Heat Action will raise awareness of fuel poverty and the thousands of deaths from cold homes each winter in the UK. Third time in a year this type of action has taken place- two of the protesters previously stripped off in Leicester For the third time this year Dan Ashman and Lee Weston, as well as Londoner known as the Jedi that he is Obi, will strip off to just their bermuda shorts to higlight the thousands of deaths caused by cold homes in the UK every year. In the winter of 2012/2013 there 31,100 Excess Winter Deaths and in winter 2013/2014 there were more than 18,000 Excess Winter Deaths. The World Health Organisation estimates that at least one third of these deaths are caused by cold homes. Wholesale fossil fuel prices have slumped in recent months, with the price of oil down nearly 50% since June, but this price fall has not been passed on to customers. Instead, many customers face an average 8% RISE as many companies’ fixed tariffs end in the new year. The Big Six energy companies made more than £2.8 billion profit in 2013 Dying for Heat will be supported by campaign group Fuel Poverty Action. Members of the grassroots campaign groups will hand out Know Your Rights cards, which encourage households to challenge energy companies, debt and forced prepayment meters. The event will also help promote the Energy Bill of Rights launched this October and Early Day Motion 395 in Parliament, which has been backed by 32 MPs so far. Ruth London of FPA said, We hope lots of people will hear about this and come show respect for these daring men who are going all the way against fuel poverty. Downing St is the right place to be. Further cuts are promised in the welfare benefits that so many depend on. Standards are being slashed on energy efficiency for new build homes. Renewable energy is under attack while further commitments and subsidies are given to polluting, climate-changing, unsustainable fossil fuels and fracking. Energy companies – and landlords -- are allowed to implement policies that kill. The Dying for Heat team have it right. This can’t be allowed to continue.” Dan Ashman, now on his third cold vigil, said, “It is not acceptable that the companies are getting record profits when it’s killing people. And the government’s going along with this. We have normalised systemic violence, see it as part of the scenery. This situation is constructed and executed by human beings. Our elders & children need us to come through for them. We can do better than this. Fight for each other. Do whatever it takes.”
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 21:50:10 +0000
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