New Delhi: Millions of people in Britain are skipping meals amid the current cost-of-living crisis, which has gripped the country, a consumer group warned Thursday, having already forecast that many risk fuel poverty after the UK curbed its energy price freeze, as reported by the news agency AFP.
This comes after the data showed UK inflation jumped back above 10 percent in September on rampant food prices, as economic troubles pile up for beleaguered Conservative Prime Minister Liz Truss.
Half of the households in the UK are cutting back on the number of meals, consumer group 'Which?' said citing a survey of 3,000 people. A similar proportion of people are finding it really tough to eat healthily, while almost 80 percent are finding it difficult financially after the crisis,
"The devastating impact of the cost-of-living crisis is, worryingly, leading to millions of people skipping meals or struggling to put healthy meals on the table," AFP quoted Sue Davies, head of food policy at Which? as saying. On Wednesday, the consumer group said that the UK government's decision this week to curb its energy price freeze would cause trouble for millions of people to adequately heat their homes.
In a series of U-turns in the budget, new finance minister Jeremy Hunt announced Monday that he is planning to pull the plug on the flagship energy price freeze in April instead of late 2024.
"The government's decision to end universal energy support in April risks throwing millions of households across the country -- not just the most financially vulnerable -- into fuel poverty," warned Rocio Concha, head of policy and advocacy at Which?, AFP reported
"The government must clarify how they will support those struggling to make ends meet beyond the spring and ensure that as energy prices remain incredibly high, consumers are not left out in the cold."
The price freeze was done in order to protect consumers from sky-high domestic fuel costs, which have rocketed on key energy producer Russia's war on Ukraine. Meanwhile, Britain has been blighted by strikes this year, as workers are seen protesting over wages that have failed to keep pace with high inflation.
According to the data, the retail prices index leaped to 12.6 percent in September from 12.3 percent in August. The Retail price index is an inflation measure that includes mortgage interest payments and is used by trade unions and employers during wage negotiation. Frances O'Grady, general secretary of umbrella grouping the Trades Union Congress (TUC), demanded this week that Truss step down.
"I have a message for Liz Truss: Working people are proud of the jobs we do. We work hard. We work the longest hours in Europe," she told the TUC's annual gathering in the English seaside resort of Brighton. "Yet thanks to your party's 12 years in government, millions are struggling to make ends meet," AFP quoted Frances O'Grady as saying.
(With Inputs from AFP)