Cost of Living and Debt Community Meeting: What We Learned and What Came Next?
Food & Solidarity Newcastle — Published 28 November 2022
Cost of Living & Debt: What Came Next
From a community meeting to a rapid response network — building collective protection against forced prepayment meters, bailiff actions, and evictions in Newcastle.
In October 2022, Vice covered Food & Solidarity's work on the cost of living crisis — specifically how so-called "money saving tips" stigmatise poverty rather than address it. Food & Solidarity member Elgan John was quoted directly:
"Tips like Edwina Currie's are not intended as actual advice. The idea is that this isn't about a material reality. It's about a lack of something in the person who is poor."
'Helpful' Money Saving Tips Are Mostly Bullshit — Vice, 18 October 2022 →
In September 2022, we held a Cost of Living and Debt Community Meeting in Newcastle — discussing debt, the #DontPayUK campaign, and lessons from historic resistance movements including the Poll Tax non-payment campaign and utility strikes in Bolivia and South Africa.
This post covers what happened next: how we turned that meeting into a practical community protection network.
Expanding Our Community Protection
Community members at the November 2022 training session, Newcastle
At the follow-up meeting, we ran training on community protection — specifically understanding bailiff powers and how to stand together as a community to prevent illegal evictions and forced prepayment meter installations. Not theory. Practical skills, tested through role-play, that change what happens at the door.
Practical bailiff resistance training — what they can and cannot legally do
Why This Mattered
Newcastle community action on forced prepayment meters, 2022
Citizens Advice data from winter 2022 predicted that huge numbers of households would be forced onto prepayment meters that winter. Many would also fall behind on rent or mortgage payments.
Energy companies are supposed to negotiate payment plans before resorting to forced installations. In practice, this often didn't happen. Some meters were force-fitted when they had no legal right to do so.
Knowing your rights — and having people around you who also know them — changes the outcome. That is what this network was built to do.
Workshop session — practical steps to challenge forced prepayment meters
The Training Sessions
We built a rapid response network in Newcastle through a series of community training sessions. Each session covered bailiff rights, how to challenge forced prepayment meter installations, and how neighbours can protect each other when enforcement arrives.
- 10 September 2022 — Cost of Living and Debt Community Meeting Debt, Don't Pay UK, Poll Tax lessons, Bolivia solidarity. The meeting that started it all. Read the full account →
- 3 December 2022 — Divercity Hub Bailiff resistance training and community protection — knowing your rights before enforcement arrives.
- 11 December 2022 — Dilston Methodist Church Community protection workshop, Benwell/Elswick area.
- 14 January 2023 — Star and Shadow Cinema, Sheildfeild New year session — no patronising money saving tips, practical collective defence.
- 16 March 2023 — Recoco, Newcastle Workshop with food shared, bailiff resistance role-play, growing attendance. Read the update on Open Collective →
The network continued to grow. Each session equipped more people with the practical knowledge to protect themselves and their neighbours — and connected them to others in Newcastle doing the same.
This work feeds directly into what Food & Solidarity does now: court accompaniment for eviction cases, bailiff resistance training on May Day, community protection networks that activate when someone is threatened. See member wins and stories →
Get Involved
Worried about bills? Bailiffs? Eviction? Want to be part of a community that stands together? Join Food & Solidarity — 500 members, no fees that price anyone out, collective action that actually works.
Join Food & Solidarity Bailiff Rights GuideFrequently Asked Questions
What is a forced prepayment meter installation?
A forced prepayment meter (PPM) installation is when an energy company installs a meter in a home without the resident's agreement, usually because of debt. Energy companies are supposed to negotiate payment plans first. Some installations are carried out unlawfully. Citizens Advice predicted in late 2022 that huge numbers of households would face forced PPM installations that winter — which is why Food & Solidarity built this rapid response network.
What are my rights if a bailiff comes about an energy debt?
In most cases you do not have to let bailiffs in on a first visit. They cannot break in without a warrant. They cannot visit before 6am or after 9pm. They cannot take essential household items — fridge, cooker, washing machine. You can record them on your property. Call Food & Solidarity on 07393 101018 for immediate support. Full bailiff rights guide →
What did Food & Solidarity do after the September 2022 meeting?
We built a rapid response network through training sessions at Divercity Hub, Dilston Methodist Church, Star and Shadow Cinema, and Recoco between December 2022 and March 2023. Each session covered bailiff rights, forced prepayment meter resistance, and how neighbours can protect each other. The September 2022 meeting itself was covered by Vice magazine.
Why are money-saving tips not enough?
Food & Solidarity member Elgan John was quoted in Vice on exactly this: "Tips like putting tinfoil behind radiators are not intended as actual advice. The idea is that this isn't about a material reality. It's about saying 'these people are poor because they don't know how to do these things'." Debt and energy poverty are structural — they require collective political responses, not individual coping strategies.
