A single mum has told how she's often forced to choose between buying petrol and essential food items. Lowri Williams, 56, relies on Universal Credit after losing her business in 2017 and regularly goes without the basics. Her elderly father used to help out with the mortgage and food costs, but recently passed away.
She told the Mirror: “We have lived day to day for around nine years. We have to judge, depending on what money is or isn’t available, when to buy toiletries, food and petrol. It’s often – can we last another week without buying a certain food item and toiletries, or is that £10 better spent on fuel? Every month is a struggle – the mortgage is £650, gas and electric £250, water £100, council tax £150, house and car insurance £120, and that before you even think of food or petrol – it’s a huge strain.”
Lowri, who lives in Blackpool, Lancashire, with her 16-year-old daughter, added: “I feel like I have not lived for nine years. I feel like I have been held back, crushed, made to feel worthless, but the worst part is that my daughter has had to go without things.”
7.4 million households affected
New research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found a staggering 7.4 million low-income households were unable to afford at least one essential item in the last month. Along with skipping meals, the survey found many families are going without showers and basic toiletries like toothbrushes and sanitary products. Some can't afford shampoo, soap, prescriptions, pain relief and weather-appropriate clothes and shoes. Others are unable to replace basic household appliances, like washing machines and fridges when they break.
Another single mum on Universal Credit told how she's had to make huge cut backs despite having a full time job in finance. The 34-year-old, who lives in Sheffield with her son, 11, said: “I’ve worked in finance for three years, but because of the rise in the cost of living, my wages haven’t kept up. I’ve had three promotions, but only one came with a pay rise, which leaves me on only just above minimum wage. I feel like I’ve made every cut back possible – we’ve swapped fresh food for frozen and I try to do meals as cheaply as I can. We don’t buy much meat anymore because of the expense which worries me as I’ve got a growing boy and he needs a varied diet. We’ve also gone back to sharing bath water, which is something I never thought I’d have to do, and in the winter I can’t have the heating on during the day. It’s really stressful and really worrying.”
Calls for government action
New Prime Minister Andy Burnham has promised to put cost of living “front and centre” of his government to provide “breathing space” for households. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation says their findings show both the scale of the issue and the potential for rapid progress with bold policy choices.
The charity's chief economist Chris Belfield said: “Andy Burnham starts his time as prime minister at a time when the cost-of-living crisis has never been more widely felt. This ongoing crisis is not numbers in a spreadsheet, it is not graphs trending up or down, it is families not being able to afford basic essential goods like food, heating and basic toiletries. We need greater intervention to control rental prices, make energy affordable and improve the adequacy of Universal Credit so everyone can afford the essentials.”
Professor Ruth Patrick of Changing Realities, a collaboration of more than 200 parents and carers living on a low income, researchers from the university of Glasgow and LSHTM and Child Poverty Action Group, said: "It is great to see Burnham promise that his will be a ‘cost of living government’, which provides some vital, and urgently needed ‘breathing space’ to struggling households. But if he is to deliver on this promise, he needs to be much bolder. Small reduces to electricity bills, and bus fares, are welcome, but - on their own - they simply won’t shift the dial on the pressure cooker of stress, anxiety and financial hardship that millions of families across the UK are facing day in and day out. On Changing Realities, we know that making a real difference also requires working in partnership with and actively listening to those at the sharpest end of the crisis, and Burnham has a time-limited opportunity to do exactly that."
Helen Barnard, director of policy and research at Trussell, added: “The findings from Joseph Rowntree Foundation reflect the reality we see at food banks every day – parents skipping meals to feed their children, people sitting in the dark because they can’t afford to switch on the lights. They are a stark reminder that the cost of living crisis is far from over. Too many families across the UK are struggling to afford the essentials like food and toiletries – and alarmingly, hardship is affecting people who had previously been getting by. That should be a massive wake-up call for all of us. The UK Government was elected on a manifesto commitment to end the need for food banks and making this a reality will require targeted support for people who are most at risk of being pulled into hunger and hardship. That includes lifting the freeze on Local Housing Allowance for private renters, and taking steps towards an Essentials Guarantee, so that the basic rate of Universal Credit covers the cost of essentials – like food and toiletries.”
