To end fuel poverty, we must end imperialism

For Prometheus we argue that U.S.-led imperialism is the primary driver of both the climate crisis and fuel poverty in Britain.

Today, 1st July 2026, the average household energy bill in Britain is set to rise by 13% (or £221), an increase attributed to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the resulting surge in wholesale gas prices. But while working families are pushed deeper into fuel poverty, the world’s 100 largest oil and gas companies are on track to pocket $234 billion in profits this year. Before the US-Zionist war on Iran, the Office for National Statistics projected 2.13 million British households would be in fuel poverty. With this latest hike, that figure will rise exponentially. 

Fuel poverty in Britain is the product of capitalist imperialism. Energy prices remain relatively low for the Global North due to the extraction of resources and labour from the Global South at exploitatively low rates. Despite this, the British working class are increasingly experiencing a colonial boomerang effect as privatised energy monopolies treat households as revenue streams. 

Decades of privatisation have concentrated energy supply in the hands of a few dominant firms – Shell, British Gas, National Grid – whose profits are shielded by a regulator, Ofgem, that has consistently prioritised shareholder returns over consumer protection. Low wages and frozen welfare benefits compound the problem, leaving millions unable to cover basic costs. Moreover, while poor housing standards force households to burn more fuel for less warmth, taxes from working people flow to the energy companies whose profits are swollen through imperialist wars of aggression.