‘They will freeze or they will starve’

UK bracing for huge spike in energy costs.

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Editorials

August 31, 2022 - 3:24 PM

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon chairs the Scottish energy summit at the Bute House in Edinburgh, on Aug. 23, to discuss what can be done to mitigate the impact of soaring energy bills. (Lesley Martin/Pool/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

Readers of Scotland on Sunday got one heck of a jolt when they opened their morning newspaper this weekend. The front page article focused on the massive increase in energy costs being faced in Britain and the especially catastrophic effect on anyone living in rural areas in the far north of Scotland, where geopolitical developments are shaking down for some Scottish families as a Hobson’s choice between food and heat.

“They will freeze or they will starve,” read the headline.

That’s not a choice you expect to have to make in a developed nation such as Scotland, a country many Americans view mostly as a scenic theme park of challenging golf courses and peaty whiskey.

But it’s the bizarre reality in a country already seeing a doubling of energy costs and a projection of further big increases. Instead of focusing on food insecurity, journalists now are exploring the phrase “fuel poverty.”

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