 Revolution! Revolution! Thousands of people protested in 40 cities and towns across the UK on Saturday, February 12th. The mobilizations, organized by anti-austerity organization People's Assembly, and a host of trade unions were protesting against a rise in the cost of living. Along with the UNI trade union, leftist groups such as the Communist Party of Britain, Young Communist League, Socialist Appeal, and Revolutionary Socialism in the 21st Century also took part in the protests. A key demand of the protests was that the Tory government freeze energy prices in the country. The protests also demanded an increase in wages and benefits in order to tackle the increased cost of living experienced by working people across the country. Yeah, it's absolutely outrageous. Every year around 3,000 people die because they can't afford to pay their heating bills. And this year even more people are going to have to choose between heating and eating because of outrageous below inflation pay rises, because of tax increases, because of cuts to public services. And the rise in the price energy cap is going to increase people's yearly bills by £700 overnight, which is just an outrageous amount for anybody, even people who are a bit better off. Earlier this month, Britain's energy sector regulator, Afgem, announced that its cap on energy prices would rise by over 50% in April this year. The cap sets prices that suppliers can charge for each unit of energy as well as a standing charge. Approximately 22 million people are likely to see an annual increase on their energy bills of £693, which is $939.15. This will increase the burden on working people who are already struggling due to inflation. We know that this government have absolutely no regard for our lives, no care for our souls, they have absolutely no humanity. And we know that we're living through a cost of living crisis. The main thing is we are all here for one reason today, and the reason is that we all know how the cost of living is spiralling, quickly out of control, and how it's becoming impossible to deal with this problem without limited disposable incomes. So when we look at each other here today, we know that none of us created this crisis and we will not pay for this crisis either. The protests are being organised while the country's inflation rate hit 5.4% in December, the highest in 30 years. The median wage in the UK in 2020 was only 10% higher than in 2010. And the general cost of food and services covered in the consumer price index rate has gone up by 20% during the same period. RUNs have gone up an estimated 35% and average house prices have gone up close to 50%. The Trussell Trust, an organisation aiming to combat hunger, reported a 2.5 times increase in their food bank use in just the last five years. Well, the cost of living, well I don't call it cost of living anymore, I think it's the cost of surviving. Everybody's gas, electric's gone up, food's going up like everything you can do. We're having to spend less money on shopping to make sure we can warm house up. We've had to be doing some cookbacks for quite a long time now. We're also obviously quite worried around our fuel bills and things like that. We're both working, you know, I'm both in full-time work and we're absolutely finding a complete little struggle. So we've had another rise in heating, electricity bills, etc. And I'll be honest, it's difficult telling your children, poor jumper off, can't afford the heating. The People's Assembly has alleged that real-term cuts in wages and pensions have rendered millions of people in the UK unable to afford basic necessities. The proposed hike in energy prices will push working people to a breaking point, while oil and gas companies generate record profits and boast of paying rich dividends to their shareholders. The People's Assembly has announced that they will be organizing major protests on March 5th and April 2nd of this year, if the Tory government does not take the necessary steps to mitigate the crisis.