Over a Million Face Poverty as Britain to See Worst Living Standards Decline Ever Recorded
Britain is slated to see its worst drop in living standards ever recorded. Over one million people face being thrown into poverty.
1.3 million people in the United Kingdom will soon fall into poverty, partially as a result of recent economic decisions made by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, a report has claimed.
It comes as multiple publications predict that Britons will soon face the worst downturn in living standards ever recorded.
According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, disposable incomes are set to drop by 2.2 per cent this year, which it says will result in the worst living standards drop since records began in the mid-1950s.
This prediction has also been backed up by the Resolution Foundation think-tank, which also notes that it expects 1.3 million people in the country to soon be thrown into poverty.
“Taking into account the measures announced by the Chancellor, the typical working-age household faces an income fall of 4 per cent, or £1,100, in 2022-23,” a report by the think-tank reads. “But the greatest falls will be felt by the poorest quarter of households who are set to see their incomes fall by 6 per cent.”
“This will see a further 1.3 million people fall into absolute poverty next year, including 500,000 children – the first time Britain has seen such a rise in poverty outside of recessions,” it goes on to claim.
Considering the extremely dire outlook, a lot of criticism has been directed towards the current Chancellor, of the Conservative Party.
“[T]he Chancellor set himself two tasks: to offer the public some protection against the surging cost of living next year, and to show the Conservative Party that he is a tax cutter,” said the Resolution Foundation in its criticism of Sunak’s performance.
“He set out significant packages on both fronts,” it continued. “But his refusal to target support at low- and middle-income households next year, and previously announced tax rises, meant he has also has fallen well short of both goals.”
Others however have been far more grounded in voicing their displeasure towards the finance minister, with one woman describing her own extremely vulnerable financial situation that came about as a result of rising energy costs to the Conservative Party politician.
“Unfortunately, the rising costs of everything — especially energy — has now put an intense strain on my ability to provide for my children,” the single mother told the Chancellor on a radio call-in.
“The significant increase in our energy bill has meant that we don’t have the boiler on, the lights are always off unless absolutely necessary, and when it’s cold we wear jumpers and coats and sometimes you can see our breaths when we breathe,” she continued.
The woman also said that she was now working multiple jobs to help “bridge the gap” in her finances, but that she still had to occasionally forego food to ensure her children were being fed.
“[T]he support that is apparently being offered isn’t relative, at all, to what the rising costs are for us, and the fact that energy is going to be going up again in October despite how significantly it has gone up already — you’re going to see more and more people relying on food banks… who may well get very, very ill because they’re unable to afford to heat their homes,” she said.
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