Fuel poverty protesters stage vigil at Shell garage in Cambridge

The Shell garage on Newnham Road, Cambridge, was targeted by Fuel Poverty Action and other groups today in protest at the suffering caused by the cost of living crisis, as the oil company records record profits.

The event, part of a national day of action, was organised in the city by Cambridge People’s Assembly Against Austerity.

Protesters at the Shell garage on Newnham Road accused the energy company of “profiteering as people struggle to pay for essentials such as energy and food”.

The day of action followed publication this week of excess deaths figures for the previous winter period.

There were 13,500 more deaths than would normally be expected in winter 2021-22, with the total reaching around 200,000. Although this was lower than winter 2020-21 (when Covid-19 deaths were at their most intense), experts say that excess deaths this winter (2022-23) are surging.

The End Fuel Poverty coalition looked at government data available on excess deaths for last month (December 2022) and suggested there were 1,047 deaths caused by living in cold homes in England alone, an increase of 36 per cent on December 2021.

A separate study by the UCL Institute of Health Equity, led by Professor Sir Michael Marmot, concluded that more than 6,000 people die each winter in the UK from fuel poverty, but say that the figure is likely to be “much higher this year” as a result of rising energy costs: energy bills are estimated to reach £5,386 per year by January, putting millions of families under huge financial strain.

Donald Bell, one of the two dozen protestors at the Shell petrol station, said: “It was a very peaceful vigil with good interactions with the public and we talked to drivers about austerity and the right to strike, and how fuel poverty has been caused by government inaction.

“Shell has given shareholders vast amounts of money but if they had any kind of heart they would cut shareholder handouts by 50 per cent – but they don’t want to help ordinary people even though ordinary people give them their profit and work for them, so they will lose out in the long run if people aren’t well fed and aren’t able to keep warm.”

Protesters encountered a new tactic at the fuel station: a High Court injunction which prohibits “blocking or impeding access” and “erecting any structure in, on or against any part of a Shell Petrol Station”.

A spokesperson for Fuel Poverty Action said: “At the heart of the cost of living crisis is an increase in energy prices for customers – while, as of October 2022, oil and gas giant Shell had paid £0 in windfall tax, despite recording profits of £26billion for the year to that point.

“Inflation is currently running at 9.2 per cent, according to the latest ONS data, but energy and food – essentials for all households – are seeing higher levels of inflation, impacting the most vulnerable people most severely. Food price inflation alone is running at a record 13.3 per cent.”

Despite the wholesale price of gas falling to its lowest level since February 2022, retailers are yet to pass on the price reductions to gas and electricity customers, forcing millions to choose between heating their homes and feeding their children.

A spokesperson for Cambridge People’s Assembly Against Austerity said: “It is an outrage that people are dying in a cost of living crisis when there is plenty of money available for the likes of Shell and those at the top of society, who are profiting from everyone else’s hardship.

“Freezing temperatures and rising energy prices mean that more and more people will be unable to keep themselves warm, well-fed and healthy this winter. We will only know the true impact when winter is over, but we do know that people are choosing between heating and eating and resorting to food banks due to unaffordable prices. Even if inflation starts to fall, people will still struggle thanks to a decade of stagnating wages, while our much-needed public services have been eroded by 13 years of Tory austerity. It’s time this Conservative government stopped looking out for its rich mates and instead taxed corporations properly and made sure everyone is able to afford basic necessities like food and energy.”

The Fuel Poverty Action campaign also demands that the government bans the enforced switching of customers to prepayment meters (PPMs) by energy companies.

Prepayment meter customers – 64 per cent of whom are are classed as ‘vulnerable’, with over half disabled or living with health conditions – could pay £258 more for their energy this winter. The government has come under increasing pressure to act since Citizens Advice recently revealed that more than three million people were disconnected due to running out of credit in 2022, more than in the past 10 years combined.

The Fuel Poverty Action campaign calls instead for the current energy pricing system to be replaced with ‘Energy For All’: a universal, free amount of energy to cover necessities such as heating, lighting and cooking. This would be paid for by ending publicly funded fossil fuel subsidies paid to companies like Shell, windfall taxes on energy company profits and implementing higher tariffs on ‘excessive, luxury energy use’.

Shell was given an opportunity to comment on today’s protest.