Unless these warm spaces also have appropriate ventilation and filtration, they will end up as spreaders of respiratory viruses (flu, RSV, SARS-CoV-2). I’ve seen no comment about this in any of the media reports.
There’s a pretty narrow range of climates that need this kind of thing. Coming from somewhere considerably colder, if you don’t have heat particularly bad things happen and people’s houses are much better insulated. (The UK will never hit -40 which happens here more years than not, more or less) some people still have problems paying their bills, but not to the extent that you need shelters where it’s warm all over the place. They don’t by law turn off people’s utilities for nonpayment for several months out of the year.
My apartment is insulated well enough that if I’m cooking or have too many computers on it will get uncomfortably hot even on the coldest days. Having windows open because you’re hot when it’s considerably colder than freezing outside is an experience.
“8.2 M
Estimated to be in fuel
poverty by October 2022.”
In the United Kingdom. Let that sink in. In 2022 we should not have to worry about energy prices. Should be as cheap as breathing air. Yet here we are.
At this point it's difficult to believe that the situation isn't the goal of those currently in power.
A former Prime Minister privately admitting to stoking xenophobia and that they believe the country with some of the poorest worker's rights in Europe needs working conditions closer to that of China[0]:
> “There’s a slight thing in Britain about wanting the easy answers. That’s my reflection on the election and what’s gone before it, and the referendum – we say it’s all Europe that’s causing these huge problems … it’s all these migrants causing these problems. But actually what needs to happen is more … more graft. It’s not a popular message.”
At a time when many people are struggling to survive, mortgages and rents The Bank of England deepen that hardship by raising interest rates with the express intent of suppressing wages[1]:
> Bailey forecast skill shortages would push wages higher and prevent inflation falling towards the Bank’s 2% target as fast as he hoped.
> “There is a risk that [inflation won’t fall] in that way, particularly because the labour market and the labour supply in this country is so tight.
> “And that’s why, really, we had to raise interest rates today, because we see that risk as really quite pronounced.”
MPs who have awarded themselves pay rises above inflation vilifying people who have seen real term pay cuts of 20%[2].
Maybe not that cheap, but in reach of everyone. Or almost everyone. I'm starting to feel that the "west" has failed somewhere in recent times. We have all the solutions and even resources available, but somehow we aren't solving issues that have been solved already.
Edit: it looks like your account has been using HN primarily for ideological battle, or is at least uncomfortably close to that line. Please don't do that! We ban accounts that do, regardless of what they're for or against, because it destroys the curious conversation I just mentioned. Past explanations of this point: https://hn.algolia.com/?sort=byDate&dateRange=all&type=comme...
I appreciate the desire for polite conversation. How though, maintain a veneer of curiosity when discussing the fact that people are freezing to death in their homes due to the actions/inaction of a specific, corrupt[0] group of individuals?
The only way I can imagine being able to do so, is to actively erase their role in the situation. I'd argue that to be much more harmful than a lack of curiosity.
Perhaps the answer is that HN isn't a suitable forum for such a topic. Although, I think the discussion around who's responsible for the current situation and their motivations is both curious and valuable.
For what it's worth, I entirely concur with GP's statement. The people responsible for this will likely escape punishment and continue impoverishing the nation for their own gain.
