Cost of living protest: Campaign group ‘Enough is Enough’ demands action on poverty crisis

A protest calling for real action on the cost of living crisis is to take place in London this weekend as part of a national day of campaigning.

Enough is Enough has organised rallies up and down the country as they seek better pay for people in the UK as well as an end to food poverty.

The group are seeking “public sector pay to increase in line with inflation and a pathway to a £15 an hour minimum wage”.

It comes amid strikes by rail, transport, and postal workers as well as the criminal barristers union, over pay demands.

They also want to see the October price hike in energy bills cancelled.

Protests in London will take place on Saturday, October 1, at 12pm in King’s Cross.

Similar events are being held in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Glasgow, Birmingham, Cardiff, Newcastle and several more towns and cities around the country.

The government has currently put in place a £400 subsidy on bills this winter meaning they will effectively stay at the level when the price cap was increased in April.

However, the mini-budget announced by Liz Truss’ new chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng on Friday focused more on tax cuts for higher earners, with higher rates scrapped completely.

The group includes RMT union chair Mich Lynch among its backers, as well as Labour MP for Coventry South Zarah Sultana.

A spokesperson for Enough is Enough said: “Queues outside food banks and kids going hungry is a national disgrace.

“It’s time to put an end to that, once and for all.”

They continued: “Food is a basic right and that needs to be put into practice, introducing universal free school meals, community kitchens, and reinstating the £20-a-week Universal Credit uplift.

“No government can be allowed to dodge this duty, with a new independent regulatory body created that will hold the government to account with oversight and endorsement powers.”

A Treasury spokesperson said: “Countries around the world are facing rising costs, driven by Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine, and we know this is affecting people here in the UK.

“That is why we have taken decisive actions to hold down bills with the energy price guarantee, which will save the average household £1,000 a year for the next two years.

“In addition, eight million of the most vulnerable households will get at least £1,200 of additional cost-of-living support this year – meaning they will be eligible for support which exceeds the average rise in energy bills by hundreds of pounds.

“And we’ve cut taxes for everyone, including changes to Universal Credit to help working households keep more of what they earn.”