The death of the late Queen Elizabeth II was a big event in 2022 history. It has become one of those events that we will talk about years later and ask, "Where were you when you found out the Queen died?" Queen Elizabeth's passing has catalyzed the country into turmoil. Not only did they lose their longest symbol of patriotism, but due to a recent policy implemented by Liz Truss, the nation went into an economic and energy crisis. In the span of 2 months, the UK had 3 Prime Ministers: Boris Johnson (2019 - 2022), Liz Truss (2022 - 2022), and Rishi Sunak (2022 - Current).
Let me briefly explain how the British government works–it’s a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy. This means that, despite having a monarch, it is not the King that makes the decisions but the Prime Minister. The Parliament is divided into three parts: the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and the Monarchy. The members of the House of Commons are elected. However, the House of Lords members are life peers and hereditary peers. And the Monarch is, of course, the Monarch. The prime minister leads the houses and has weekly meetings with the Monarch. For a more in-depth explanation, I recommend this UK Parliament video.
After Boris Johnson announced his resignation in July, Liz Truss won the election by a small margin in September. However, six weeks later, she announced her resignation. Her resignation caused the nation to hastily find someone to occupy the spot. Resulting in Rishi Sunak becoming prime minister. Why was Liz Truss in office for only six weeks? That's because, despite being warned, she implemented a mini-budget. This budget would see massive tax cuts to the wealthy in British society. The mini-budget did not go as planned, expecting the economy to adapt and be able to restructure itself; the economy instead fell. Truss also announced a new deal with energy suppliers that caused average British household bills to go up exponentially.
I had the opportunity to interview Max (they/her), a friend who is currently a student in the UK. Max directly saw the effects of these crises and was also affected by them. They allowed me to interview them on their own experience with these events and how these political events affected their life personally.
What were your opinions on Liz Truss becoming a prime minister?
Unmitigated disaster. Truss’s brief 45-day reign as head of state introduced failed economic policies alongside a nationwide energy crisis. Truss and Kwarteng (our finance minister at the time) announced her mini-budget, which would see massive tax cuts to the wealthiest in British society. Within three weeks of Truss taking control of her party, the value of the £ dropped to the lowest it's been against the dollar in 37 years—during the nationwide energy crisis. Consequently, mortgage interest rates and borrowing costs spiked, becoming further unaffordable to the average British family. All these are entirely foolish and irresponsible. It shows exactly the caliber of person she is—an ex-energy company worker who cared only for profit for herself and her friends higher up in society.
How did the energy crisis affect you? And how are residents preparing for the winter?
The energy crisis directly affected me. When this began, I was looking into moving into a new place. I'm fortunate that as a student, I get bills included in my rent, and I have housemates. However, the new policy raised the price of my bills package by almost £9 per person a week extra—averaging £108 a month split between my housemates and me. I am lucky to have found a company that didn't raise costs by much as other companies we spoke to had increased bill packages by nearly £30 per week per person.
Rather than implementing policies capping the amount of money energy companies can charge, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson responds to complaints over the energy crisis by suggesting investing in slow cookers and air fryers to save pennies. Many families are preparing the same way. It isn't easy to get things like heated clothes and airers [drying racks], as families buy devices to save pennies however they can.
A huge sector being hit by this are small businesses. I live in an area with a large amount of family-owned businesses. I can think of at least four off the top of my head that have closed since this crisis began. 'Meeple Perk' is a small board game cafe in my city that has been very transparent about how the crisis affects them, showing their energy bills increasing from £187 in September to £1581 in October.
What was your reaction when Liz Truss stepped down?
Truss stepping down was something most of the UK saw coming, so when it eventually happened, it was primarily met with jokes and humor—which the UK often does. Mine was similar, albeit more hopeful that Sunak would implement more support for lower-income families during this time.
What are your opinions on the new prime minister?
Rishi Sunak is a wealthy man whose estimated net worth is double that of our current King and Queen consort. I cannot foresee a man with such wealth understanding what is best for the most vulnerable within our country. In August, Sunak criticized UK Covid Lockdown measurements. He blamed scientists and attempted to insist schools be kept open during the pandemic. He lacks empathy toward people, and he cannot see things from the perspective of the lower class. I am hopeful he will implement policies to support the lower class in taxes and the energy crisis—however, this is yet to be seen.
With the economic crisis and energy bills going up, it is no wonder that Max and other residents can't help but wish for better changes as they are struggling to pay their bills. The newly implemented policies and changes in prime ministers were just random information we'd see on social media or the news. However, we should view it from another perspective, like how those changes affect the locals. When we see news on foreign affairs, we sometimes tend to depersonalize the news, maybe think, "how sad," and go on with our lives. Though this isn't innately bad, being more aware of current events makes us more empathetic and knowledgeable of the world around us. Because despite a change of government officials or new policies in a different country not directly affecting us, it could be affecting someone else close to us, perhaps a family or friend. It is more beneficial to stay informed of things outside our current bubble.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.