Erskine Bike Meet a huge success
What a beautiful time it has been over the last couple of weeks and it was great to see the sun shining for Erskine Motorbike Meet last Sunday.
This event is always a wee bit different to your usual Gala Days or events and it’s always great to see bikers from all across the country join in with the parade, all in aid of a great cause, the Erskine Veteran’s charity who provide invaluable support for Scotland’s veterans.
There was great food, lots to keep the kids entertained and great performances from the bands and choir and you didn’t have to spend a lot to have a good time.
The event was absolutely mobbed and it was brilliant to see such a great turnout.
I hope the weather holds out for Renfrew Gala Day this Sunday at Robertson Park, which is always another fun filled event and I hope to see many of you there supporting local groups and businesses.
These events are a nice distraction from some of the more difficult things going on just now.
Last week we saw the latest update from Ofgem on the Energy Price Cap.
This has resulted in a fall in energy prices, with the average household facing bills of £2,074 per year from July 1, 2023.
While this may be welcomed, it means that the price of energy is still nearly double the rate households were charged when the cap was introduced in 2019.
During this period, we have seen massive rises in energy prices matched only by the excessive profits piling into the bank accounts of the energy companies.
Although any drop in the price of energy is to be welcomed, households are still struggling with the price of energy as the UK Government fails to bring in any effective support or to seriously tackle the obscene level of profits that the energy companies are making.
However, falling prices will not end the current cost-ofliving crisis.
Citizen’s Advice Scotland recently reported a 40 per cent rise in the number of people seeking help, with high energy bills driving that increase.
They also report that the higher winter energy bills have impacted on household’s financial resilience and that we will be living with the legacy of that for some time.
Analysts have suggested that prices will drop in July, stay about the same for October’s update but will rise again in the first quarter of next year and bills are not expected to return to pre-2020 levels before the end of the decade at the earliest.
Anti-poverty groups are warning figures show that the numbers of Scottish households living in fuel poverty has increased by over 40 per cent in three years and that this is leading to a rise in debt due to unaffordable energy prices.
It is appalling that an energy rich country such as Scotland – which can produce all its electricity needs from renewable sources – has a rising number of people finding it difficult to pay their fuel bills.
People are continuing to struggle on a daily basis for essential items and it is not on.
Scotland could do things differently to the Tories and Labour’s Brexit Britain that we never voted for.
With every day that passes it becomes clearer we need our independence.