UK cost-of-living protests as Tories defend tax-cut plans

LONDON: Protesters rallied in London and elsewhere around Britain on Saturday over the cost-of-living crisis, as the ruling Conservatives geared up for their annual conference insisting their debt-fuelled tax-slashing plans were “credible”.

Thousands of demonstrators aligned with various causes and organisations — including environmentalists Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil as well as inflation-focused group “Don’t Pay UK” — blocked roads and bridges in London.

People chanting “can’t pay, won’t pay” burned mock energy statements, as huge price increases to electricity and gas bills came into effect at midnight Friday.

The government has capped the rise at roughly 27 percent for the next two years — meaning the average household will pay annual bills of around £2,500 ($2,792) — following several previous dramatic spikes over the last year.

But that could still prove unaffordable for many and comes amid decades-high inflation that has pushed up the cost of petrol, food and numerous other everyday essentials.

“Enough is enough. It’s time to funnel our collective rage into something active and productive,” Lily Holder, 29, from southeast London, said as she joined the protests.

“The people want and desperately need change — and they need it soon.”

Demonstrators demanding more action to tackle the climate emergency also attended, with the “Just Stop Oil” group demanding the UK government stop all new oil and gas extraction.

Meanwhile, protesters turned out in Birmingam to rally against the handling of the situation by the ruling Tories, who kick off their annual conference in the central English city on Sunday.

Following a week of turmoil on financial markets prompted by their September 23 mini-budget, under-fire Prime Minister Liz Truss and her Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng arrive on the defensive over the economic package.

The tax-slashing plans, which will dramatically increase government borrowing, went further than many expected, abolishing the top rate of income tax and lifting a cap on bankers’ bonuses.

It prompted the pound to drop to its lowest ever level against the dollar.

The turmoil forced the Bank of England to make an emergency intervention to stabilise the situation, amid fears of a collapse in UK pension funds.

Also on Friday, the S&P ratings agency said it had revised its outlook for the UK from “stable” to “negative” following the fallout from the mini-budget.

It cited the risk that “the UK’s economic growth turns out weaker due to further deterioration of the economic environment, or if the government’s borrowing costs increase more than expected”.

It comes days after rival ratings agency Moody’s warned that Kwarteng’s fiscal strategy was “credit negative” and could “permanently weaken the UK’s debt affordability”.