Cost of living campaign: ‘Urgent help’ message to new prime minister Liz Truss

We need help - now - to prevent a cost-of-living catastrophe in our city.

As Liz Truss today prepares to meet the Queen at Balmoral after securing the keys to Number 10, we have this stark message for her on behalf of everyone in Birmingham.

Businesses will fold, many people will go cold, hungry or both and some will die unless you, Ms Truss, take radical action immediately.

Spiralling energy prices are already hitting the poorest in Birmingham hardest. Figures released in 2021 revealed that Birmingham Hodge Hill has the highest levels of fuel poverty out of any constituency in England, with Ladywood and Erdington, also among the hardest hit constituencies by the crisis.

It is a scandal that prepayment meters, used by many on low incomes, come with higher energy costs under the price cap. It can’t be right that someone on a prepayment meter is charged more than anyone else to boil a kettle or put on the heating.

We are joining forces with our sister titles in cities up and down the UK to demand urgent help for both households and businesses.

We are calling on Liz Truss to take immediate action, specifically:

• To stop the cost of energy from going above double the levels seen last winter, for both households and businesses;

• To help those on prepayment meters so they are no longer facing higher energy prices; and

• To tell energy companies that they cannot cut off the supply to any homes this winter if people fall behind on their bills.

BirminghamWorld and NationalWorld will be highlighting the cost of living crisis and its impact on our city in a series of articles over the coming weeks.

We will be calling on our leaders - in politics, business, and our communities - to step up for our city.

And we want to hear from you, our readers, about your own experiences.

• How are rising energy bills, fuel costs and food prices affecting your daily life?
• What worries you about the prospect of the winter ahead?
• And - crucially - where can the government help?

How is the cost of living crisis in Birmingham affecting you? Contact Birmingham World and speak to one of our reporters in confidence on [email protected].

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