Crowds in the UK Take to the Streets Over Soaring Energy Prices

Simultaneous Protests at Over 50 Locations on the 1st (Local Time)
'Bill Burning' Performance Also Held

On the 1st (local time), Britons, unable to endure the soaring energy prices, simultaneously held protests. The photo shows a social media post reporting the protest news. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Unable to endure the soaring electricity and gas prices, the British held simultaneous protests at over 50 locations on the 1st (local time).

According to local media such as The Guardian, the protests on this day were the largest scale demonstrations in the UK in recent years, with dozens of gatherings held from Plymouth to Aberdeen, involving thousands of participants. Amid soaring prices causing financial hardship, the angry public sentiment worsened due to this week's financial market turmoil and increases in housing mortgage rates. On the same day, railway and postal workers also went on strike.

The group leading the protests was 'Don't Pay UK'.

Franklin Dawson (29), a graduate student and member of the 'Don't Pay UK' group, said in an interview with The Guardian, "People are enraged because these situations immediately and severely affect their living standards, and these issues are so clearly unfair."

Protesters also performed acts of burning energy bills to protest against the rate hikes.

'Don't Pay UK' is campaigning to refuse payment of electricity and gas bills until the rates become affordable, and currently more than 193,000 people have joined the movement.

In the UK, gas prices have risen by 80%, leading to forecasts that energy-related expenses this winter will be more than double those of last year.

Earlier, on the 3rd of last month (local time), an anti-government protest demanding responses to the energy crisis took place in downtown Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. According to police estimates, 70,000 people participated in the protest, where people from both right-wing and left-wing groups united in shouting, "Take care of domestic issues first and withdraw from the European Union (EU)."

In Belgium, on the 21st of last month (local time), a protest involving an estimated 10,000 people by police was held. Although the protest was led by labor unions, the content condemned high inflation. Protesters waved flags with slogans such as "Life is too expensive" and "Control prices, not people." According to a recent public opinion poll conducted by the Belgian daily Brussels Times, 64% of Belgian citizens responded that they are worried about being able to pay gas and electricity bills this winter.

The background of these protests lies in the EU's sanctions against Russia, which have disrupted natural gas supplies. Foreign media have warned that the energy crisis could ignite political turmoil in Europe.

In South Korea, from the 1st of this month, electricity rates for general households will increase by an average of 6.8%, and gas rates by 15.9%. Due to this increase, electricity rates have surged 17.9% and gas rates 38.5% since the beginning of this year, with even larger hikes expected next year.