Why we'll need to invoke the neighbourly spirit we saw during Covid to see out winter crisis - Bill Carmichael

But every time I listen to or read the news, that warm summery feeling immediately disappears with an arctic shiver and I can feel the cold invading my bones and an icy fist gripping my heart.

The bad news has been unrelenting in recent days – roaring inflation (forecast to be above 13 per cent), predictions of a recession that will make us all substantially poorer, rocketing gas and electricity prices that will see people go cold in the coming months, strikes in just about every industry you can imagine.

And – the worst realisation of all – it is the poorest and most vulnerable who inevitably will be hit hardest.

I am just praying fervently that some new variant of the dreaded Covid virus will not raise its ugly head in the autumn to put an absolute tin hat on what is sure to be a terrible winter.

Heaven knows we have endured some difficult times during the pandemic – lockdowns, not seeing friends and family, working remotely, just one quick walk around the block allowed each day.

But if all the gloomy forecasts are correct, this winter will test our resilience to breaking point.

The looming crisis has led to loud calls for the Government to do more, and given the scale of the problems, these demands are going to be hard to resist whether it is Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak who emerges as Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister in less than a month’s time.

There is certainly a case for more help, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the assistance already put in place by the government. In May Mr Sunak, the then Chancellor, announced a £15bn programme of measures, bringing the total cost of living support provided by taxpayers to £37bn – a very substantial sum.

As a result every household will receive a £400 discount on their energy bills from October, with the less well off getting a further £650 one-off payment, all funded by a 25 per cent windfall tax on oil and gas companies.

Such state support is unprecedented, but almost before the ink was dry on the proposals it became clear this help would be insufficient.

Thanks largely to Vladimir Putin’s imperialist war against Russia’s neighbour, Ukraine, gas prices have risen by a staggering 900 per cent since January, totally dwarfing the help so far offered.

Analysts are predicting that energy bills for a typical household could reach more than £4,200 next year, the equivalent of £355 a month. There are many families, even those in reasonably well-paid jobs, who simply will not be able to afford such sky-high sums.

Consumer expert Martin Lewis said this week that we are facing a national crisis on the scale of the pandemic, and he added that the help offered by the government to households needs to double.

Derek Lickorish, chairman of energy supplier Utilita, called for a social tariff, funded by taxpayers, to offer discounted energy rates for lower income households.

Further help will clearly be needed, and this week the current Chancellor, Nadhim Zahawi, and Business Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, held a summit with gas and electricity company executives to press for solutions to the predicted spike in bills.

All well and good – but here’s the thing; whatever extra help the Government offers, it won’t be enough. Whatever solutions the gas and electricity company bosses come up with, they won’t be enough.

To get through this crisis we will need to look closer to home – to ourselves and within our communities. We can’t rely on the Government to solve all our problems.

We need the sort of pulling together, resilience and community spirit that proved so valuable during the lockdown.

This will mean millions of small interventions by individuals – checking on an elderly neighbour, picking up a medical prescription or a bit of shopping, volunteering for a regular shift at the food bank (which are certain to be incredibly busy). We will get through this by caring for each other, looking out for each other, and, dare I say it, loving each other.

This month marks the centenary of the birth of one of our great poets, that adopted son of Hull, Philip Larkin.

And I’m reminded of the final lines of his poem, Arundel Tomb: “To prove our almost instinct almost true, what will survive of us is love.”