The cost of living crisis is still Britain’s defining political challenge

Scandal and speculation continue to grip Westminster this week. But beyond the bubble, one issue matters more to the public than anything else: the cost of living.

New polling by the Cost of Living Action campaign (COLA) shows that the cost of living is by far the most pressing issue for people in the UK: a huge 63% cite it as one of the top three most important issues to them personally – significantly outstripping the number of people who said health (38%) or immigration and asylum (37%).

Yet for some in Westminster, the cost of living crisis is seen as a temporary problem that’s long since faded into irrelevance. Political attention spans can be short, and it feels like a lifetime ago that the crisis erupted with soaring energy bills in 2022.

But in reality, the cost of living crisis is far from over. In fact, it’s worse. COLA’s survey reveals that almost two thirds of people have cut back on essentials like groceries and utilities. Half or more say it’s harder to pay their energy bills or to afford other essentials than five years ago.

READ MORE: ‘Every Lidl helps: What can the Government do to bring down food prices?’

Most starkly, 40% of the public have £100 or less at the end of each month after paying for bills and essentials. Nearly 10% are left with no money at all, while 5% are forced into debt after paying for these unavoidable costs. This breadth and depth of hardship is completely unacceptable in a country as wealthy as the UK.

It should come as no surprise, then, that people are miserable and angry. Close to two thirds of the public think the current government has handled the crisis badly, and over 40% hold them most responsible for it. The political consequences of failing to bring down the cost of living are huge.

This crisis didn’t have a single origin. It may have been catalysed by the huge spike in energy bills and ensuing high inflation back in 2022, but other drivers like housing costs, anaemic wage growth and cuts to social security have been around for much longer. Like the mythical hydra, it’s a beast with multiple heads. And in the absence of Hercules, tackling it will require multiple solutions.

Our research found widespread support for a range of policies that address the root causes of the crisis. 63% of the public support cutting energy bills by cracking down on profiteering and shifting to ownership for the public benefit. A similar number – 60% – are in favour of bringing wages in line with the cost of living and introducing fair pay agreements across the economy. Both policies were opposed by only 11% of the public.

A strong majority (56% in favour vs 13% against) back bringing housing costs down with large-scale social housebuilding and private rent controls – including majorities among owner occupiers, private renters and social renters. More than half (53%) also support increasing the social security minimum to ensure that everyone can afford the essentials – over three times as many who oppose (17%). Over 50% of the public also want to see these policies funded via more and better taxes on wealth, targeting the super rich, fossil fuels and banks.

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Strikingly, all of these policies are supported by the majority of people intending to vote Labour at the next general election and the majority of people intending to vote for Reform. In other words, they’re popular across the political spectrum. A government which is looking to hang onto its voters and persuade others to support it again should take note.

As Yuan Yang MP, who’s working with the campaign and is co-convenor of the Living Standards Coalition in Parliament, says, this research “has identified a critical challenge for those of us in Westminster to grapple with: that we need a holistic approach in order to create growth while tackling the cost of living crisis. This approach requires increasing incomes, reducing costs, and fairer taxation.”

More than a decade of cuts to public services and social security under previous governments have eaten into the fabric of our country. Millions of people have seen their wages stagnate, their costs go up and their living standards fall – all while wealth and power grows increasingly concentrated at the top of society. Things cannot go on like this. After nearly two years of being on the back foot, now is the time for the government to be bold and deal with this crisis with the urgency it demands.

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