What is the Enough is Enough campaign? Tens of thousands sign up for cost of living action

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - 2022/07/23: A protester holds a placard stating that oil companies have been making a profit of £3 billion per day for 50 years, during the demonstration in Bloomsbury. Protesters from Just Stop Oil, Extinction Rebellion, Insulate Britain and other groups marched through central London calling on the government to end fossil fuels, tax big polluters and billionaires, provide insulation for all homes, and act on the climate and cost of living crisis. (Photo by Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Enough is Enough is calling on Britons to sign up to join rallies calling on the government to tax high earners, tackle poverty, and take action on the cost of living crisis. (Getty) (SOPA Images via Getty Images)

Tens of thousands of Britons have signed up to back a new campaign to tackle the cost of living crisis.

The Enough is Enough movement said its website crashed after huge numbers visited when it was launched on Monday morning.

The initiative is encouraging people to sign up to join marches and demonstrations across the country in reaction to spiralling living costs and inflation.

What is the Enough is Enough campaign?

Founded by a group representing trade unions and community organisations, Enough is Enough says it is "determined to push back against the misery forced on millions by rising bills, low wages, food poverty, shoddy housing – and a society run only for a wealthy elite".

The movement sets out five key aims:

1. A real pay rise

2. Slash energy bills

3. End food poverty

4. Decent homes for all

5. Tax the rich

It says: "If you’re struggling to get by and your wages don’t cover the bills, if you’re fed up working harder for less and you’re worried about the future, or if you just can’t stand to see what’s happening to our country – join us.

"Enough is enough. It’s time to turn anger into action."

The groups claimed that a huge scramble to sign up sent its systems down on Monday morning, but encouraged people to keep trying to register.

Enough is Enough launched on Monday morning but crashed soon after, claiming that 'tens of thousands' had already rushed to sign up and support the movement (Twitter/Enough is Enough)
Enough is Enough launched on Monday morning but crashed soon after, claiming that 'tens of thousands' had already rushed to sign up and support the movement (Twitter/Enough is Enough) (Twitter/Yahoo News UK)

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Once registered, they will receive tailored information on events, rallies and picket lines in their local area.

The website continues: "We can’t rely on the establishment to solve our problems. It’s up to us in every workplace and every community."

The group is supported by MPs Ian Byrne and Zarah Sultana, as well as a host of collectives including various unions, Fans Supporting Foodbanks, and the Right to Food Campaign.

Labour MP Byrne has been attending rallies with the group since the Spring. On Monday he Tweeted: "This is a crisis for our class, not theirs.

BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 28: Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby Ian Byrne addresses an audience at a fringe event for political festival The World Transformed, on the fourth day of the Labour Party conference on September 28, 2021 in Brighton, England. Labour return to Brighton for their in-person 2021 conference from Saturday 25 to Wednesday 29 September. This will be Keir Starmer's first conference as party Leader. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby, Ian Byrne, is a co-founder of Fans Supporting Foodbanks and a supporter of Enough is Enough (Getty) (Leon Neal via Getty Images)

"They make record profits, we face soaring bills. Enough is enough. We’re launching a campaign to turn anger into action, putting our need before their greed."

He labelled Enough is Enough as a "grassroots political and community campaign for the times" and said "it’s a real honour to be involved with so many like minded individuals".

And Sultana, Labour MP for Coventry, said: "Things can't go on like this: record profits for big business, record numbers of billionaires, record wealth for the top 10%.

"But life is getting harder for everyone else.

"It's not workers' wages that should be capped. It's corporate profits, CEO salaries and the wealth of the super-rich."

The campaign launched as a top economist warned that Britain faces "a very real possibility of destitution for many this winter".

James Smith, research director at independent thinktank the Resolution Foundation, said the Bank of England's "dire forecasts" show the inflation crisis is now expected to last longer and hit households harder than previously anticipated.

He warned the latest economic predications "lay bare the challenges facing the next prime minister", and said: "The reality is that whoever steps into Downing Street this September will face an immediate challenge to provide targeted support to avoid the very real possibility of destitution for many this winter".

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