We took to Bridgnorth High Street to see how people are coping with energy costs now winter is setting in.
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00:00Do you still get that? Or are they taking it off you?
00:06How are you going to cope with that this year?
00:08Well, I've got enough, so, you know, it's not me that has to worry.
00:13So you're quite well off, so you're not worried about the heating?
00:17But I presume you've got friends and people in your peer group who are?
00:21Yes, but I don't know their circumstances.
00:25I mean, there are 59 flats where I am, and obviously we're varied incomes.
00:33And I'm all right, Jack.
00:39But do you feel for a few people that are stricken this winter when the cold weather comes?
00:44Well, of course it's lousy, it is.
00:47And it's for everyone who can't cope.
00:52And how do you think the government's doing at the moment?
00:54I was going to say, I can't make it political, but no.
01:04I just think the government's in a hell of a bind because it's got too much to go out and not enough coming in.
01:11I wouldn't want the job.
01:15That's, I think, a very salient point.
01:21Can I just take a word for your name, then?
01:24Do you want me to get on with it?
01:27I mean, heating's obviously gone up quite a bit, so it's going to go up even more.
01:30It will, it will go up, won't it?
01:33Every year it goes up.
01:35Well, are you tempted to keep your heating off?
01:37Well, as much as possible.
01:39During the day, you keep it off, don't you?
01:41Just keep to one room.
01:43Just carry on from there, don't you?
01:45When you get a move, a couple of days, shut the door.
01:49So you're pretty much leaving one room, just to say goodnight?
01:51Yeah, just keep to one room.
01:53You've got a wife with you as well at home, don't you?
01:55Yeah, she's in there.
01:57So you're bound to lay her up to you and keep to one room?
02:00Yeah.
02:02And what do you think the government should do?
02:04I think they should be a bit more helpful with pensioners.
02:07I mean, they've taken the winter fuel off, but it's a bit of a stink, isn't it?
02:12I don't think they can do anything really, no.
02:18All your food keeps going up.
02:20Everything keeps going up, so there's no stopping it, is there?
02:24I mean, if they could, they'd all be brilliant.
02:27We watched Charles down.
02:29And the government, they've put everything up for self, isn't it?
02:33So who's going to suffer?
02:35It's the people, isn't it?
02:37Do you find yourself getting poor as each year goes on?
02:40You think you're doing all right, but by the end of the year, you're pocketing it.
02:46I mean, that's what you used to do for a living.
02:48I was an orange harvester.
02:51And that's all your life?
02:53Yeah.
02:54Does that one take your name?
02:56Are you both working?
02:57No, we've both retired.
02:58And what about your winter fuel?
03:00No.
03:01They've taken it off, yeah?
03:02Yeah.
03:03We just got over it, yeah.
03:05So, I mean, how's that going to fit you?
03:06I mean, are you planning for your bills this year?
03:09Well, we live in a park, our own site.
03:11So, are we callow gas in a tank?
03:14We've got a dumper.
03:15A dumper tank.
03:16And we get, like, a delivery every month, sort of, October to maybe February.
03:21And then we get, like, it doesn't come for the rest of the year because we don't plan to use, sort of, cooking and we don't use central heating.
03:27So you have to plan it in advance?
03:29We do, we do.
03:30I mean, has the price of gas gone up?
03:31Yes, it goes up.
03:33We've got a good supplier.
03:35Sorry to interrupt.
03:36We've got a good callow gas from Killingminster and they keep us well informed.
03:41And it goes up by a little bit, but when the price comes down, they do reduce it.
03:46They're a very good company and they look after us exceptionally.
03:50Yeah.
03:51But, I mean, it's obviously going to be a bit cold this year.
03:53I mean, do you find yourselves tempted to keep it heating off?
03:56Well, no.
03:57We have to try and...
03:59The site owner rules out electric because we get it through what the site owner decides.
04:06Obviously.
04:07So, whatever that's going to happen now, with this rise and everything else, we may be in a little bit of trouble.
04:14So, actually, at the moment we've got, we've bought two fleeces.
04:18Yeah.
04:19So we'll sit with the fleeces and we don't have the lights on at all.
04:23You don't have the lights on?
04:24No.
04:25We have maybe just a little light that's on the side, but we keep it low.
04:28Just enough to see without getting accidents.
04:30Yeah.
04:31It's no way to do, is it really?
04:33Well, it's ridiculous.
04:34We didn't wear it for all our lives.
04:35It's retarded.
04:36And I've got a problem because I've got a tumour in my ear.
04:38Yeah.
04:39So I have to have a little bit of light because I do have balance problems.
04:41Balance problems.
04:42And which have been done by the hospitals and keeping a check on it every year.
04:46So it is important that I keep myself safe and this is my carer, basically.
04:51And now I look well and young and all that, I hope.
04:54Yeah.
04:55Not young.
04:56I'm 77, my husband's 78.
04:59I mean, the government are going to need a bit more money for pensions, mate.
05:02Probably not going to have you this winter, though, is it?
05:04No, it isn't.
05:05No, no.
05:06Do you think it was a bit too much of a blow?
05:08I think it's absolutely ridiculous.
05:10It's a bit cynical.
05:11You know, there are other ways of looking at this.
05:13I think they've just gone for the actual thing and that's what we're going to do.
05:17It's signed by the farmers.
05:18They've got no idea what they're doing.
05:20I'm not totally running them down, but I don't think they've thought this out clearly.
05:26And that's my opinion.
05:27I think we've heard now in the news that Scotland's going to award their pensions.
05:32They always do the opposite, don't they?
05:34They are a devolved government, so that can be what they want.
05:37But Scotland's supposed to be a jeopardy as well, so...
05:39But we understand that.
05:40We think of them, well, it's just attack, attack, attack.
05:43We've got to give them tight insert areas.
05:46We understand that.
05:47We've been bullied.
05:49They're supposed to have the quality of a working thing.
05:52They don't seem to be that at all.
05:55It's got to go around the world, doing all these interviews with different people of the world.
06:00We understand all that, but there's too much going on here.
06:03We should balance it out.
06:05He seems to be running away all the more.
06:07He is running away.
06:08I hate to run people down, but that's the way it is.
06:11He's trying to be a statesman at the end of the day.
06:12I think he is, and I think he's not qualified for the job at all.
06:15No.
06:16And I think what's happened with the riots and things, people shouldn't riot really, but it wasn't fair.
06:23We don't agree with riots.
06:24We do agree with protests.
06:26It wasn't fair.
06:29I just think the British people are second class now, and they will be in five years.
06:35Well, our children don't understand.
06:37You know, they're that 30, 40 age, but they can't see what's happening.
06:43But I just dread for the future.
06:45I said to them all, you're all clever, disappear to another country, and they said, well, we'll be the foreigners then.
06:52So it's not fair really.
06:53We'll be the immigrants.
06:55But we're very lucky that we've got four kids.
06:57We've all put through uni.
06:58We've worked our row out.
07:00We're all working 12-hour shifts and working two jobs.
07:03Put them through university, they've got fantastic jobs, and that's the only blessing we've got.
07:08That our kids are okay.
07:09So far.
07:10So far.
07:11Well, thank you so much for your time.
07:13That's brilliant.