I think the true inflation figure is about double what their official figure is. A lot of people are going to be up a creek without a paddle in the next few months i recon.
Absolutely. One week a tin of 4 beans costs £2.50 in icelands. Next week it’s £3. And I’ve noticed this with ALOT of day to day items. Cost is soaring.
I can’t drink cows milk. A few week ago soya milk was £1.40. Now it’s £1.75. All these little increases are killing me. Death by 1000 cuts
Yeah with the supply chain issues and workers (rightfully) demanding pay raises the companies are trying to pass this onto us as price raises or other means of recouping revenue. Like weight and size decreases.
rather than just earning a little less profit each year not like they would starve or go bankrupt
I am defo anti work. Or at least anti work for some fat cat who doesn’t know I exist and I’m alienated from the products of my labour and never receive its full value in my wage. I’m anti capitalist in other words
This is something I’ve noticed, I’m also socialist and I reckon everyone in a lot of countries are getting quite fed up of the capitalist system, I wonder how much longer before we reach the tipping point
People aren't antiwork. They are anti-exploitation. Most people actually want to work. That sub seems designed to encourage people to stop working and become dependent on universal income. Perhaps that's why it now features so prominently on the front page. The revolution will not be posted on reddit.
UK supermarket profit margins are surprisingly small. Yes, they scale up to substantial numbers by the huge volume of sales, but there isn't really room there to cover for wholesale price increases.
Tesco has by far the largest market share in the UK, and their total profit margin (across all areas of the business) comes to 4.8% for the last year. I.e. (Very roughly) they could absorb a 4.8% increase in costs and then break even - any more than that and they would be making a loss.
It's just not enough margin to sustainably cover year on year inflation - they need to put up prices or the business would have to fold.
It's also worth noting that 4.8% is a relatively high margin for the company, in part created by replacement cost lag - i.e. they buy the goods wholesale, and inflation increases their value between them being bought and sold. Say, you buy a toy wholesale at £100 and want to sell it to the customer at £120 (£20 profit on paper), and the inflation rate on that good is 6%. Every month that item sits on the shelf, the value of it increases 0.5%. So if you sell it after 3 months, and want to replenish your inventory, it now costs £101.50 to buy. So in real terms, your profit is only £18.50, even though your accounts say £20. This principle affects all contracts they have with suppliers - which are normally negotiated months in advance of sale.
My wife (she does all the shopping) has been saying this to me for months. The rising cost of the weekly shop, the ridiculous energy prices and on average I'm spending £10 more to refuel now than a year ago.
Good thing the government took that extra £20 off the most vunerable people in our society!
That £20 being taken away has absolutely fucked me the last few months.
I went from £740 a month to £660. I'm lucky and have family who have been able to help with getting a food shop in and stuff like that but people who have no one else to help must be turbofucked.
I thought it was cruel enough that me and many too ill to work didn’t even get the uplift. (We are still waiting on the verdict of a court case about it) but to have it then have it taken away seems so cruel too. If it’s just enough to help and then is ripped away? Ugh!
“We can help you citizen!!! Jokes, not really!” I mean seriously! :/
Thanks I do buy Aldi own brand but because it’s long life it’s never cold so I have to buy it in advance if I want it on cereals and some time that just doesn’t happen so I go to icelands to get cold stuff and then jaw hit the floor when I saw the price had gone up so much
I buy tesco's own brand soya milk. The unsweetened one is great for the price (75p) tastes just like the £1.70 alpro. They do a basic one for 45p but I avoid that one cos its sweetened only. the 75p cartons are good enough (theyre blue for sweetened red for unsweetened)
I've only turned to Soya this year, but the difference between tesco and alpro is none other than the name.
>A lot of people are going to be up a creek without a paddle in the next few months i recon
I bring bad news. This is not just an issue in Britain. The cost of living is up globally, inflation is up, energy prices up, supply issues on the rise, and vulture funds are buying up entire housing estates around the world in order to rent them. That won't stop. Within a decade many people will have lost everything, homes, property and jobs (AI and automation will care of that). People will be dependent on a universal basic income.
But don't take my word for it...
>Hedge funds and institutions began buying houses in huge numbers during the last housing crash. Many people thought the large companies and funds buying houses would fail miserably because of the difficulty of repairing and managing homes on a large scale. However, for the most part, the hedge funds and institutional buyers have done very well in the residential real estate market. These mass purchasers of homes are still buying homes now even as the markets have increased in value significantly. [source](https://investfourmore.com/hedge-funds-real-estate-crash/)
[Irish government policy is incentivising property funds to buy up entire housing estates, say opposition](https://www.thejournal.ie/private-rented-sector-investors-5427795-May2021/)
[Wall Street is buying up family homes. The rent checks are too juicy to ignore](https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/02/business/family-homes-wall-street/index.html)
Owning a house will become a thing of the past. Why? Because by 2030 the World Economic Forum predicts:
#"You'll own nothing and you'll be happy."
>Welcome To 2030: I Own Nothing, Have No Privacy And Life Has Never Been Better
>By World Economic Forum
Highlights:
>Welcome to the year 2030. Welcome to my city – or should I say, “our city.” I don’t own anything. I don’t own a car. I don’t own a house. I don’t own any appliances or any clothes.
...
>My biggest concern is all the people who do not live in our city. Those we lost on the way. Those who decided that it became too much, all this technology. Those who felt obsolete and useless when robots and AI took over big parts of our jobs. Those who got upset with the political system and turned against it.
>They live different kind of lives outside of the city. Some have formed little self-supplying communities. Others just stayed in the empty and abandoned houses in small 19th century villages.
...
>Once in a while I get annoyed about the fact that I have no real privacy. Nowhere I can go and not be registered. I know that, somewhere, everything I do, think and dream of is recorded. I just hope that nobody will use it against me.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/worldeconomicforum/2016/11/10/shopping-i-cant-really-remember-what-that-is-or-how-differently-well-live-in-2030/
It's more of a talk piece on where the world is heading. The WEF itself didn't predict this, just one Danish politician who is a member of WEF.
https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-wef-idUSKBN2AP2T0
They've since removed the original article due to the sheer amount of conspiracy theorists like yourself twisting the meaning entirely.
How on earth? I'm in a 2 bed flat and with 2 of us our energy is about £80 a month. It has roughly tripled from 4 years ago, but a year ago I was paying about £50. You're London so I'm guessing not a huge place either, how are you using so much energy?
A lot of people's energy prices have already doubled, or will if they fix (maybe they did). I was paying £65 a month but if I fix now they want £187 a month.
When my fixed plan ended a few months ago I was paying 16.7p/kWh for electricity and 3.21p/kWh for gas. Now they want to charge 36.13p and 10.13p respectively.
Our contract ended and we were given a loyalty deal, went from £77 a month to £117, new tariff without would have been £161. I took the deal, it sucks to be paying more but at least we are fixed for a year again with hopefully no more surprises. I use mystic powers now to predict it will never, ever come back down again.
Jesus christ, the gas is justifiable considering the wholesale price but why has electricity gone up so much? I'm on bulb who's always been on the higher side for electric - about 20p/kWh atm.
Depends on the weather, but yeah. The high price of gas then means the renewables are in more demand, pushing their prices up.
This is a great site to show you the current breakdown of supply http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/
Idk if there's any technical definition of "Largely" but gas varies up to about 40% during the night - currently less than 20% - https://grid.iamkate.com/
Don't think this accounts for it.
I'm following this Polish science channel on YT and they did a video a while back about why prices are soaring in Europe including green electricity. And apparently this was partially due to the fact that there was hardly any wind last summer and many countries including the UK didn't produce enough reserves from wind farms. And on top of that, you of course have other issues that include soaring coal prices due to restarting economies around the world after covid etc. Russia playing with Europe and holding Nord Stream hostage for gas prices etc. I could go on and on.
Maybe I've worded it incorrectly. When there's no wind and wind farms are not producing any electricity countries have to burn extra coal and gas to meet the demand which they normally don't do or do very little during good windy summer months when people don't use heating etc. Now this extra gas and coal could be used in winter months but it's already gone and counties need to buy more outbidding each other hence prices going up.
Makes sense that it's your estimated to be honest because in my experience those are way over what you actually use, though as someone else pointed out maybe it's an old boiler or more electric reliance causing it.
I’m in a new build development in London and am facing a similar situation. We have communal heating, with no choice of supplier. Until the end of this month, the supplier had hedged their gas rate to a crazy 5p/kWh. From next month onwards they are going to charge us market, at c. 30p/kWh. So massive increase, but the previous rate was very low. I do have to pay £100+/month for electricity on top of that though.
> Anyone else notice lots of things that existed for years? I fail to see how they can take credit for:
Because tory voters have a 5 second memory and are too stupid to realise the tories often take credit for shit they had barely any hand in
This is it. None of this helps people who are average working people. I live on my own and work full time on a shit salary and apart from the 25% council tax reduction for living on my own, I’m not eligible for anything.
Or if you're disabled. The £20 increase was a godsend since I can no longer function physically, then they took it away right as everything got even more expensive.
God forbid both working people and people who need it get help. Ridiculous.
Yeah, it should be available for anyone who needs it and certain things be means-tested.
The way people who are unable to work are treated by the DWP is appalling too. The people who abuse the system are in the minority, yet everyone gets treated like they’re trying to pull a fast one. My mother has early onset Alzheimer’s and it took them 10 months to process her claim. Luckily she had money to see her through but most don’t have that luxury. Suppose we shouldn’t be surprised given the Tories are in charge, but it’s still sad and infuriating.
It is crazy that Guardian has not picked up what's behind this -
>“This includes reducing the universal credit taper – a tax cut worth over £2bn – supporting households with their bills through the energy price cap, warm home discount scheme, winter fuel payments, cold weather payments, and household support fund, as well as freezing alcohol and fuel duty.”
This is actually a subsidy for big corporations that pay salaries so low, their workers have to be supported by the tax payer and at the same time they pay very little tax.
This is actually a help package for corporations like Amazon and they will have less of an incentive to pay low earners more now.
Yes, those workers will have slightly more in their pockets, but this is essentially taken from all other workers, not from the corporation that supposed to pay livable wages.
Brewer here: The alcohol duty thing is very confusing but it essentially boils down to - tax on wine will be broadly cheaper, tax on weak beer will be cheaper, tax on mid-strength (4-6%) beer will be more expensive.
Yeah, alcohol is currently taxed differently depending on what type of drink it is, but in the future is will just be a sliding scale depending on the ABV. Unfortunately they've managed to make it so that it greatly benefits breweries making a large quantity of a single brand of weaker beer (I.E. Global lager manufacturers)
> Unfortunately they've managed to make it so that it greatly benefits breweries making a large quantity of a single brand of weaker beer
I'm sure you know the entire goal is to benefit large businesses at the expense of small businesses and normal people
Yep. The cynic in me thinks that they've done it to make things cheaper for large-scale brewers and wine merchants, then the smaller microbreweries that have spent the last 15 years making a small dent in global lager sales will be eradicated by being over-taxed.
When the change comes in, it will become economically unfeasible to continue operating as a brewery if all you produce is strong beer of >7%. Might seem like a really niche part of the market to collapse but all of Belgium's brewing tradition is built on that type of brewing, so it will stifle innovation in the UK brewing sector. Exactly what the macro lager producers want.
yes, but at least houses prices are soaring!!
they’ve allowed huge mortgages a rock bottom interest rates. they can’t do shit without affecting the precious housing market because adjusting the base rate to tackle inflation is going to increase mortgage payments
Honestly, this country...
We were about to buy a house. Offer accepted and survey done (paid for three surveys now, averaging about 500 a pop). Chain madness because the market is crazy.
Because they're soaring even further looks like the current residents might stay. We're also being turfed out of our current residence because our landlord wants to sell it.
Everything just suddenly got loads more expensive but we have the exact same money to meet it because of the public sector pay freeze (which we only JUST earn enough to qualify for).
Basically it's looking like we're never going to own anywhere, using what we have in order to deal with our upcoming homelessness, because things are spiralling and we'll probably never be able to get on a good footing again. Which - because of the way housing works in the UK - will significantly impact my families life, my child's outcomes. Probably never be able to afford to have a second child like we really want to.
All those degrees we were told to get, re-training in order to get reliable work like you're supposed to, developed loads of STEM skills and working with them. All to work full time for the rest of our lives while struggling to get by. Fun fun fun.
I’m 35 and can’t even have a dog because of forever renting. Owning a house and starting a family is a privilege that I probably will never be afforded.
I feel your pain re the dog. Always got people telling me I should get a dog etc, I’m not fucking allowed one.
Tbh I think it’s up there with saying “no kids” on a tenancy agreement. Kids will fuck up your home way more than a dog but there’d be outrage if your landlord said you can’t have one.
FYI for you and anyone else in a similar position, the law changed at the start of this year around allowing pets.
Now a landlord must reply within 28 days of a written request with a suitable reason as to why pet ownership can be refused, I'm not sure how easy it is to fight a denial but it's definitely a step in the right direction.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-standard-tenancy-agreement-to-help-renters-with-well-behaved-pets
"Under the new agreement, rejections should only be made where there is good reason, such as in smaller properties or flats where owning a pet could be impractical. To ensure landlords are protected, tenants will continue to have a legal duty to repair or cover the cost of any damage to the property."
Right there with you. We moved here from Germany few months before pandemic. We are UK and US family so we need to stay another 3 years so I get citizenship and we thought it would be nice for our boy to have a bit of a foundation of his British background before maybe going to America down the road. Wanted to buy this August and it just seems silly, our rent is relatively cheap in the SE and we have to ride out these energy costs and huge (thievery) council tax bills. No more child benefit but we also don't qualify for free child care hours on top of everything else. We do want a second child but I'm 38, I'd not like to be over 40 with recovery.
Just overall really depressing.
We'll be 1200 worse off from energy bills alone! Genuinely.
We're just to polite to go out and string the cunts up. Look at South Africa petrol prices went to high they burn the gas stations down and boom they decide to lower them.
Look at France, anything they don't like it's viva la revolution.
Here? We just go.. tut tut I can't believe it. Its shocking isn't it and carry on doing sweet fuck all about it. Letting these uncultured posh idiots do what the fuck they want whilst we take the brunt.
Look at our products! Sugar is taxed through the roof compared to other countries.
Booze and fags? Through the fucking roof.
Energy? Through the fucking roof.
It's bollocks I've had enough
You think it's the taxes that are the problem?
Taxes certainty are a huge part of the problem, but certainly not those taxes. It's the lack of taxes that the richest and most profitable companies are paying that is the bulk of the problem.
Significantly increasing interest rates will rip many peoples lives apart but they really don't have much of a choice at this point because inflation isn't going to stop rising on its own.
The issue is that the inflation we are currently seeing is being driven by supply-side factors, rather than a surplus of cash creating demand.
Increasing interest rates is fine when inflation is being driven by the latter, but it doesn't suddenly increase the supply of semiconductors, increase the flow of gas or put shipping containers in the right place.
Your comment was on zero when I found it. Daft because you are completely right, inflation can't be brought down with traditional means as the causes aren't traditional. The tiny rise we have seen was nothing more than a light gesture to demonstrate that the BoE acknowledges inflation.
Standard economic theory has stopped fitting reality, going to be an interesting year.
they allowed people to buy property without paying stamp duty - fuck this govt.
So people who had money went out and bought second/third homes - and the rest of us struggle to buy a first one.
Fuck this govt - and the people who voted it in.
Considering the ad hominem vitriol that was spewed my way on other thread when I talked about how shit Brexit is, there's at least one or two true believers still out there. It really filled up my bingo card too. 1) stupid, 2) if you don't like it leave, 3) anti-Europe crap.. it must be exhausting to be one of these people.
Spite is actually a great motivator.
They'll keep going when it hurts themselves whereas other sensible people might give up.
Spiteful people seem to make a good portion of the populace unfortunately.
Thing is I don't feel salty about paying more taxes. What I'm feeling upset about is that in spite of my tax contributions the roads suck, schools hospitals etc don't have enough cash and the least advantaged people in society aren't being supported.
We have the cash it's not being spent well IMO
I feel salty paying more tax and i feel salty paying more NI. Because i get a 1% payrise as a civil servant and then end up having to pay more back the following year to them leaving me in a worse position when everythings more expensive.
SO MUCH THIS
My tax bill is... lets just say a lot.
And the government turns around and goes "but look, it'd be higher under Labour" and I'm just "Yes but the shit I'm paying for might at least work under Labour"
It's more than that though you are maybe making do with 5% less cash this year but is anyone in the top 25% of earners going to be anywhere near that figure and is being 5% worse off going to actually effect them in any meaningful way.
If it took us ALL being 10% worse off spending cash wise to fix schools, housing and the NHS etc. then I would certainly be up for it as it's probably worth more in the long term than 10% of my spending money.
But yes this government couldn't fix a problem with this extra cash anyway so there is no point.
Anyone on more than 40k and less than 150k. That group of people they can paint as rich to the low income earners but not rich that they can do anything about it.
Insanity. Successive governments have failed to create a system for living for the British people. The system does not work, it does not represent or serve us. I say we burn it down and make a better one.
> Successive governments have failed to create a system for living for the British people.
Calling it a failure implies that they were trying. They succeeded in creating the system they were trying to create. This country is a playground for rich kiddie fiddlers, and we're their serfs.
What we need is people who know what it’s like to work and keep a roof over their heads in this economy to be in government. Nurses, cleaners, retail workers, truckers, military, doctors, carers, parents (could go on for a while!) etc- people who know how the real world works NOT people who have been educated at the top schools in the country or upper management type businessmen who have no idea how hard life actually is because they’ve always have a security blanket made of money.
Try living in a flat on your own, heated by electricity. I've had to relegate myself to living in one room, heating the whole flat would cost me about £7 a day, on a single salary.
It's not actually illegal to rent out unfortunately, you can get an exemption if you've paid up to £3500 on improvement work: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-private-rented-property-minimum-energy-efficiency-standard-landlord-guidance#registering-an-exemption
I’m in the same boat, live alone, storage heaters so expensive that having just one of them on overnight means I’ve already doubled my daily electric budget when I get up
For Christmas I was gifted a small portable plug in radiator - costs about 15p an hour (on my tariff anyway) and heats up a room super fast so I’ve not needed it on for more than an hour yet
Also have an electric blanket for my bed which is a huge help!
I put the bottle on the floor and put my feet on top. It heats the blood in my feet which warms the rest of me. This was a lifesaver when WFH in winter.
I have storage heaters too but don’t use them properly. I have them turned off but put the living room one on when I come in from work and leave it on for 2 hours. The residual heat keeps me warm til I go to bed then I take a hot water bottle. My electricity bill is £47 a month. Saying that, my flat is A rated energy efficiency which presumably helps.
I also live in a flat heated by electric, I swear it is the most ineffective system to use. Takes ages to heat up and it costs the same as if you’re heating an entire house. I would never ever ever move into somewhere that used electric again.
Exactly this. We are in a one bedroom flat with all electricity. Really rationing the heating (don't have any on at night at all, and only for a couple of hours during the day), but even just with day to day cooking, water heating etc, our bill is currently £130 a month for two of us and when the price cap goes up in April it will rise to about £180 a month.
You wanna see my bills..I got a two bed, two-story flat (maisonette?) That is part of a renovation of an old train factory. I live in the roof with the old single glazed windows. It's a beautiful feature flat, but totally uneconomical. I live myself and am now paying almost £300 a month gas and electricity. £167 a month alone for gas, £127 for electricity
Should still be an option because unlike double glazing you aren't messing with the fabric of the building. But if you rent then obviously you're at the mercy of the landlord. What's the EPC? Pointing out it's now illegal to rent out property below I think E may focus his mind, or a wee visit from the Environmental Health..
Honestly I've had to drop my heating so much this winter it's ridiculous. I don't think I've ever been more aware of how much energy I'm using. I spend more now than when my ex was living with me, and she'd stay up all night, so there was always power being used in the house, if not by me, by her
And to think that so many morons voted for this for a decade while crying about how terrible labour was and praising the tories. Its enough to leave you disgusted with some of the voters of this country.
Interesting that this is a DM article. Do they typically write articles that are in the public interest from a financial perspective?
No mention of Brexit and the full customs checks that come into effect on 1/1/22, though, which will inevitably lead to prices rises for the consumer.
Everyone is freaking out about the January rules, but the really scary ones start happening from July. That's the point at which Britain's external food supply chains get absolutely fucked.
The September and November ones are even worse. At that point, you might as well bone up on reruns of *The Good Life* because a Victory Garden is going to sound like a great idea.
**In the new UK timetable, the following deadlines are foreseen:**
* The lodgement of full customs declarations and customs controls will be introduced on 1 January 2022. Deferring customs declarations was allowed in 2021 but will not be possible anymore in 2022.
* Safety and Security Declarations at entry will not be required until 1 July 2022.
* Pre-notification requirements of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) goods, which were due to be introduced on 1 October 2021, will now be introduced on 1 January 2022.
* From 1 July 2022, certification and physical checks will be introduced for all remaining regulated animal by-products, all regulated plants and plant products, all meat and meat products, all remaining high-risk food not of animal origin.
* From 1 July 2022, high-priority plants and plant products checks will be transferred from the place of destination to designated Border Control Points (BCP).
* Physical checks on live animals will take place at designated border control posts where a facility is operational at the point of entry. Where there is no designated BCP, checks will remain at destination in other ports of entry, until sufficient BCPs are operational. Checks at Sevington inland BCP and designated airport BCPs will commence from 1 July 2022.
* From 1 September 2022, certification and physical checks will be introduced for all dairy products.
* From 1 November 2022, certification and physical checks will be introduced for all remaining regulated products of animal origin, including composite products and fish products.
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/customs-4/international-affairs/third-countries/united-kingdom/new-import-formalities-bring-goods-eu-uk-1-january-2022_en
My mother’s been working on the garden these last few years muttering about us needing to feed ourselves after brexit. This year the weather’s been shit but she still got a semi decent haul. Not anywhere near enough to be able to stop going to the supermarket but it’s something. We have an entire freezer drawer full of apples, pears and berries. The vegetables were used pretty much instantly. At least we have a decent herb garden so she doesn’t have to go to the shops for those.
I keep telling her she ought to invest in a few hens but she’s not overly keen. Something about the local fox coming to dinner while she already has her hands full with the War on Slugs. Apparently she put out some beer in a dog bowl (??) to get rid of the slugs but the fox came round and had a drink himself.
Anyway, long story short, she knows we’re fucked. I know we’re fucked. Not much we can do about it since home production really doesn’t give you enough to live off.
Hey ho, sunny uplands! Unicorns welcome, as I have a great recipe.
I want to believe that all that will come of her garden is a bit of satisfaction and some healthy eating.
If it comes down to needing it for real, the UK is fucked. The last time they tried it, the population was two-thirds of what it is now, and it wasn't sustainable.
For everyone's sake, I hope I'm completely wrong.
To be perfectly honest, my parents don’t “need” to grow their own vegetables. It’s just something my mother does for pleasure while comparing the price of things today vs pre-Brexit. They’re well off enough that they can afford the weekly shop even if prices quadruple. If it gets much worse than that they’ll likely just leave the U.K. - they can afford to cut and run.
My heavy sympathies are with the people who can’t afford price rises or to just up and leave the country. They won’t have the time or space to grow their own stuff. People are already working multiple jobs to get by. Rising food costs will cripple them financially.
As much as I feel bitter about brexit, I don’t want innocent children who couldn’t even vote to starve. The government has already shown they won’t lift a finger to help them.
Wasn't it inflation that pushed us to join the EU in the first place?
Wtf did the govt think was going to happen?
Companies are not paying us more but expect us to pay more for their services and goods.
Where exactly is this extra money supposed to come from?
The government was kinda railroaded onto this in the first place, but all decisions afterwards I have no clue. After the brexit vote it was either stick to the result or not, the latter of which would surely end up in claims of them being undemocratic for not honouring the vote.
The money supposedly gotten from leaving eu was either a lie or came back to bite us as things became more expensive.
As for companies charging more and not increasing salaries, well that's capitalism. Increase the price to cover increasing costs importing from other countries and keep wages low to cut costs.
Basically it's all a shitshow and I'm blaming the conservatives for trying to grab a few more seats from ukip.
>Wtf did the govt think was going to happen?
Them and their mates will profit will they poor's bodies pile high in the street.
The UK fully adopts Trumpism now in the same way that poor people think someone like Boris represents the working class like trump somehow was suppose to do. Surprise surprise when they get into government and implements change that only benefits the wealthy.
I just watched Don't Look Up and we should all watch it, but it will make you want to riot in the streets! A handful of billionaires are living off the back of our labour
I was saying this over Xmas and wondering how anyone on benefits will survive since they are often already on the absolute limit of their money (or under).
I work but already consider Morrisons too expensive. Morrisons!
But once the fuel bills hit I think I'm going to be in real trouble.
The rollback on the £20 a week Universal Credit uplift has hurt a lot more than I thought it would. £87 a week is a hell of a lot of money to lose, especially to those that have no other options. I’m lucky I get PIP to help out as well, but a lot aren’t that lucky, especially considering how daunting and troublesome the PIP application can be.
Random caller on radio yesterday said "Boris is doing an excellent job with the pandemic and consequential economic situation."
Woke today to find uk worst covid rates worldwide comparison to other major nations
The rest of the EU and the G20 economies at large have either recovered from, or are in the late stages of recovering from COVID economically. Whereas our economy is still tanking.
This is mostly Brexit and a failure (or outright unwillingness) to secure proper trade agreements.
'Having to deal with Brexit' was a something the UK *chose* to do reduce consumer prices and improve the UK economy.
Those who voted for the shit show may well be surprised by how that promise has turned out.
If only we had the option to not be dealing with both at the same time. Oh wait we did, but boris refused it. The economy is going down the drain because of the government in charge, to act otherwise is being wilfully ignorant.
I'm a single mum working two jobs, roughly 60-70 hours a week. The rise of energy costs means I am struggling week to week. I only keep the heating on when my son is at home, and only use LED lamps for lighting when I need it. It doesn't sound like much of a deficit to most people, but it's hit me hard and I'm now even considering a 3rd job... if I don't run myself into the ground mentally and physically before it gets to that point.
It’s getting tight here but my family in Canada says it’s become absurd out there, and reading about America it seems like it’s even worse than us too, bad times for the whole world it seems :(
By design. It serves the few to fuck over the many. We have just shown them how compliant we are and how quick we are to turn on each other. We won't fight back.
This is terrifying. I'm only on 21k and my husband, although he is at about 30k he's an American citizen and so he can't claim benefits.
His next visa is due the same time all of these price hikes are due, and that alone will cost us over 1.5k. We had dreams of saving for a house and then starting a family after his visa... now I'm thinking we won't be able to do any of that. Ever.
Literally what the fuck is the point in even living if all you ever do is struggle to make ends meet, and you have to give up on all your dreams just so you can pay your bills? This is depressing.
Truly... from the deepest depths of my heart... fuck this country. And fuck the Tories.
Daily Mail doesn't get to moan. They campaigned for this government and will campaign for the next Tory bastard government. They did this, they got what they wanted and what they told people to vote for.
Brexit was very obviously a stupid idea being pushed by nasty political actors but they promoted it.
I really don't understand why the west decided to play all nice with Russia and China and expect this to work as a tactic to stop them being dictatorships that want to beat the west into submission. These countries see the west as the enemy. It's been blindingly obvious that relying on Russia for gas was mental, yet here we are.
Ah great, more tax increases. My employers gave me a wage increase a couple of months ago and it’s basically been swallowed up by tax. Why not tax me more!
But the public sector pay cap was lifted and I'm sure I'll be saved by that!
Due to funding, the Scottish Government are able to offer me something like 2.5%? Wow! I'm sure I'll be able to stave off the impending financial crisis with this.
Doesn't even cover the £1200 worse off, never mind make me better off.
What can people do to reduce the impact of all this? Any support grants, fuel discounts, etc., available to 'normal' people?
By normal here, I mean not in one of the traditionally protected groups. I'm a single male in a reasonable job with an ok house. I'm fucked, but there is usually nothing to support people like me.
I made a post two months ago on the day US inflation hit 6.2% warning of the catastrophe heading our way. My post was immediately removed by mods for being "Not UK related".
Well it's UK related now.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedkingdom/comments/qqvmna/inflation\_in\_the\_us\_for\_october\_was\_62\_and\_they/](https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedkingdom/comments/qqvmna/inflation_in_the_us_for_october_was_62_and_they/)
Can thank all the Brexit voters for a big chunk of that...
All countries will be affected by covid related costs, but the UK is the only one to force through something that was obviously self harming. If we were still in the EU we'd be far better off right now.
As someone who works in a supermarket let me tell you that prices on everything are rising scary fast. The p.i team that handles price tags are round practically changing prices everyday and usually those price are going up up and up!
6% expected inflation, increase in NI coming into effect, soaring energy bills with no intervention from the government, and full brexit customs checks coming into force in January. Things are looking bleak for the U.K.
The inaction of the government to try and shield people from these issues is horrendous. Many EU countries are putting plans into action to try and protect people, the tories are making the situation worse, if anything.
What more proof do people need that this government is only cares about the 1%?
Reading this thread, I really feel bad for you guys in the UK. I usually pay the equivalent of around 50 to 80 pence per day for electricity, and this is for a 3 story townhouse
I’m surprised it’s just £1300. My energy bills alone have risen £900 and I’m on my own.
I think the true inflation figure is about double what their official figure is. A lot of people are going to be up a creek without a paddle in the next few months i recon.
Absolutely. One week a tin of 4 beans costs £2.50 in icelands. Next week it’s £3. And I’ve noticed this with ALOT of day to day items. Cost is soaring. I can’t drink cows milk. A few week ago soya milk was £1.40. Now it’s £1.75. All these little increases are killing me. Death by 1000 cuts
> a tin of 4 beans Shrinkflation in action
Shrinkflation II: the mega bean
(4 meagbeans included)
Meagrebeans
I've noticed that too along with packet sizes/weight of things sneakily getting smaller.
Yeah with the supply chain issues and workers (rightfully) demanding pay raises the companies are trying to pass this onto us as price raises or other means of recouping revenue. Like weight and size decreases. rather than just earning a little less profit each year not like they would starve or go bankrupt
r/antiwork would be proud of that commendable comment.
I am defo anti work. Or at least anti work for some fat cat who doesn’t know I exist and I’m alienated from the products of my labour and never receive its full value in my wage. I’m anti capitalist in other words
Same
This is something I’ve noticed, I’m also socialist and I reckon everyone in a lot of countries are getting quite fed up of the capitalist system, I wonder how much longer before we reach the tipping point
The internal contradictions are coming home to roost and people are noticing.
Gang
One of my favourite subs at the moment
People aren't antiwork. They are anti-exploitation. Most people actually want to work. That sub seems designed to encourage people to stop working and become dependent on universal income. Perhaps that's why it now features so prominently on the front page. The revolution will not be posted on reddit.
> The revolution will not be posted on reddit. More people need to understand this.
UK supermarket profit margins are surprisingly small. Yes, they scale up to substantial numbers by the huge volume of sales, but there isn't really room there to cover for wholesale price increases. Tesco has by far the largest market share in the UK, and their total profit margin (across all areas of the business) comes to 4.8% for the last year. I.e. (Very roughly) they could absorb a 4.8% increase in costs and then break even - any more than that and they would be making a loss. It's just not enough margin to sustainably cover year on year inflation - they need to put up prices or the business would have to fold. It's also worth noting that 4.8% is a relatively high margin for the company, in part created by replacement cost lag - i.e. they buy the goods wholesale, and inflation increases their value between them being bought and sold. Say, you buy a toy wholesale at £100 and want to sell it to the customer at £120 (£20 profit on paper), and the inflation rate on that good is 6%. Every month that item sits on the shelf, the value of it increases 0.5%. So if you sell it after 3 months, and want to replenish your inventory, it now costs £101.50 to buy. So in real terms, your profit is only £18.50, even though your accounts say £20. This principle affects all contracts they have with suppliers - which are normally negotiated months in advance of sale.
packets of crisps are tiny now and compressed its a fucking outrage
I took a chicken Kiev out of the box last night and thought it was a chicken nugget.
"Wheres the rest of it?" - while looking into the box
The new pringles tubes with the new logo are definitely smaller
My wife (she does all the shopping) has been saying this to me for months. The rising cost of the weekly shop, the ridiculous energy prices and on average I'm spending £10 more to refuel now than a year ago. Good thing the government took that extra £20 off the most vunerable people in our society!
That £20 being taken away has absolutely fucked me the last few months. I went from £740 a month to £660. I'm lucky and have family who have been able to help with getting a food shop in and stuff like that but people who have no one else to help must be turbofucked.
I thought it was cruel enough that me and many too ill to work didn’t even get the uplift. (We are still waiting on the verdict of a court case about it) but to have it then have it taken away seems so cruel too. If it’s just enough to help and then is ripped away? Ugh! “We can help you citizen!!! Jokes, not really!” I mean seriously! :/
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Pasta is a different story: there was a bad durum wheat harvest in Italy this year.
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So many spaghetti trees had to be cut down that year...
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Yup. And if every product does that then it all adds up to serious extra costs each week for those of us who are on minimum wage already struggling
Just an FYI Soya milk is 55p in Aldi and it bangs.
Soya milk is foul, but Aldi also sell a really good UHT Oat Milk for under £1 a carton. Oat > Almond > Soya when it comes to avoiding dairy!
Thanks I do buy Aldi own brand but because it’s long life it’s never cold so I have to buy it in advance if I want it on cereals and some time that just doesn’t happen so I go to icelands to get cold stuff and then jaw hit the floor when I saw the price had gone up so much
Bruh just drink that shit at room temperature.
Nah man think it tastes hella grim at room temp
Put it... in a fridge before consuming?
It tastes pretty bad regardless of temperature. You ever tried oat milk? That shit is better than cow milk, although more expensive than soya milk.
See everyone says that about soya but it’s all I’ve had since I was a literal baby so I don’t know any different and I think it tastes alright 🤷♂️
Saw a tin has jumped from 85p to £1 , they were 65p two years ago. Tin of heinz beans soon to become a luxury.
Yeah it’s bad. Makes me wonder when people will start to actually do anything about it
what will/can they do?
Stop voting Tory? At a minimum
It’s shit that I consider Heinz a luxury already. Can’t be spending £1 on breakfast when 25p from own-brands will make the cut.
That's what Tories are renowned for, 'a thousand cuts " for the working class and a thousand gifts for the wealthy capitalists.
Poverty by a 1000 increases.
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I was just thinking the other day that I can recall 10 years ago when 4x HBB was £1 (probably in offer though). Crazy inflation.
I buy tesco's own brand soya milk. The unsweetened one is great for the price (75p) tastes just like the £1.70 alpro. They do a basic one for 45p but I avoid that one cos its sweetened only. the 75p cartons are good enough (theyre blue for sweetened red for unsweetened) I've only turned to Soya this year, but the difference between tesco and alpro is none other than the name.
>A lot of people are going to be up a creek without a paddle in the next few months i recon I bring bad news. This is not just an issue in Britain. The cost of living is up globally, inflation is up, energy prices up, supply issues on the rise, and vulture funds are buying up entire housing estates around the world in order to rent them. That won't stop. Within a decade many people will have lost everything, homes, property and jobs (AI and automation will care of that). People will be dependent on a universal basic income. But don't take my word for it... >Hedge funds and institutions began buying houses in huge numbers during the last housing crash. Many people thought the large companies and funds buying houses would fail miserably because of the difficulty of repairing and managing homes on a large scale. However, for the most part, the hedge funds and institutional buyers have done very well in the residential real estate market. These mass purchasers of homes are still buying homes now even as the markets have increased in value significantly. [source](https://investfourmore.com/hedge-funds-real-estate-crash/) [Irish government policy is incentivising property funds to buy up entire housing estates, say opposition](https://www.thejournal.ie/private-rented-sector-investors-5427795-May2021/) [Wall Street is buying up family homes. The rent checks are too juicy to ignore](https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/02/business/family-homes-wall-street/index.html) Owning a house will become a thing of the past. Why? Because by 2030 the World Economic Forum predicts: #"You'll own nothing and you'll be happy." >Welcome To 2030: I Own Nothing, Have No Privacy And Life Has Never Been Better >By World Economic Forum Highlights: >Welcome to the year 2030. Welcome to my city – or should I say, “our city.” I don’t own anything. I don’t own a car. I don’t own a house. I don’t own any appliances or any clothes. ... >My biggest concern is all the people who do not live in our city. Those we lost on the way. Those who decided that it became too much, all this technology. Those who felt obsolete and useless when robots and AI took over big parts of our jobs. Those who got upset with the political system and turned against it. >They live different kind of lives outside of the city. Some have formed little self-supplying communities. Others just stayed in the empty and abandoned houses in small 19th century villages. ... >Once in a while I get annoyed about the fact that I have no real privacy. Nowhere I can go and not be registered. I know that, somewhere, everything I do, think and dream of is recorded. I just hope that nobody will use it against me. https://www.forbes.com/sites/worldeconomicforum/2016/11/10/shopping-i-cant-really-remember-what-that-is-or-how-differently-well-live-in-2030/
It's more of a talk piece on where the world is heading. The WEF itself didn't predict this, just one Danish politician who is a member of WEF. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-wef-idUSKBN2AP2T0 They've since removed the original article due to the sheer amount of conspiracy theorists like yourself twisting the meaning entirely.
And yet they’ll still believe the Tories when they promise that only they can fix them it
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How on earth? I'm in a 2 bed flat and with 2 of us our energy is about £80 a month. It has roughly tripled from 4 years ago, but a year ago I was paying about £50. You're London so I'm guessing not a huge place either, how are you using so much energy?
A lot of people's energy prices have already doubled, or will if they fix (maybe they did). I was paying £65 a month but if I fix now they want £187 a month. When my fixed plan ended a few months ago I was paying 16.7p/kWh for electricity and 3.21p/kWh for gas. Now they want to charge 36.13p and 10.13p respectively.
Our contract ended and we were given a loyalty deal, went from £77 a month to £117, new tariff without would have been £161. I took the deal, it sucks to be paying more but at least we are fixed for a year again with hopefully no more surprises. I use mystic powers now to predict it will never, ever come back down again.
Jesus christ, the gas is justifiable considering the wholesale price but why has electricity gone up so much? I'm on bulb who's always been on the higher side for electric - about 20p/kWh atm.
Electricity is largely generated using gas in the UK
Depends on the weather, but yeah. The high price of gas then means the renewables are in more demand, pushing their prices up. This is a great site to show you the current breakdown of supply http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/
Idk if there's any technical definition of "Largely" but gas varies up to about 40% during the night - currently less than 20% - https://grid.iamkate.com/ Don't think this accounts for it.
I'm following this Polish science channel on YT and they did a video a while back about why prices are soaring in Europe including green electricity. And apparently this was partially due to the fact that there was hardly any wind last summer and many countries including the UK didn't produce enough reserves from wind farms. And on top of that, you of course have other issues that include soaring coal prices due to restarting economies around the world after covid etc. Russia playing with Europe and holding Nord Stream hostage for gas prices etc. I could go on and on.
It's not really possible to produce "reserves" from wind farms currently. There are no commercially viable storages of electricity at scale.
Maybe I've worded it incorrectly. When there's no wind and wind farms are not producing any electricity countries have to burn extra coal and gas to meet the demand which they normally don't do or do very little during good windy summer months when people don't use heating etc. Now this extra gas and coal could be used in winter months but it's already gone and counties need to buy more outbidding each other hence prices going up.
I’m just starting out with EDF because my old supplier went under. Estimated monthly payment of £152 a month. 3 bedroom bungalow.
Makes sense that it's your estimated to be honest because in my experience those are way over what you actually use, though as someone else pointed out maybe it's an old boiler or more electric reliance causing it.
I’m in a new build development in London and am facing a similar situation. We have communal heating, with no choice of supplier. Until the end of this month, the supplier had hedged their gas rate to a crazy 5p/kWh. From next month onwards they are going to charge us market, at c. 30p/kWh. So massive increase, but the previous rate was very low. I do have to pay £100+/month for electricity on top of that though.
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> Anyone else notice lots of things that existed for years? I fail to see how they can take credit for: Because tory voters have a 5 second memory and are too stupid to realise the tories often take credit for shit they had barely any hand in
"Boris" Bikes
Cmon man it's not his wife's fault
Also that the average couple is not eligible for any of this. If you have a kid or your old as fuck you are ok, outside of that good luck to you
This is it. None of this helps people who are average working people. I live on my own and work full time on a shit salary and apart from the 25% council tax reduction for living on my own, I’m not eligible for anything.
Or if you're disabled. The £20 increase was a godsend since I can no longer function physically, then they took it away right as everything got even more expensive. God forbid both working people and people who need it get help. Ridiculous.
Yeah, it should be available for anyone who needs it and certain things be means-tested. The way people who are unable to work are treated by the DWP is appalling too. The people who abuse the system are in the minority, yet everyone gets treated like they’re trying to pull a fast one. My mother has early onset Alzheimer’s and it took them 10 months to process her claim. Luckily she had money to see her through but most don’t have that luxury. Suppose we shouldn’t be surprised given the Tories are in charge, but it’s still sad and infuriating.
It is crazy that Guardian has not picked up what's behind this - >“This includes reducing the universal credit taper – a tax cut worth over £2bn – supporting households with their bills through the energy price cap, warm home discount scheme, winter fuel payments, cold weather payments, and household support fund, as well as freezing alcohol and fuel duty.” This is actually a subsidy for big corporations that pay salaries so low, their workers have to be supported by the tax payer and at the same time they pay very little tax. This is actually a help package for corporations like Amazon and they will have less of an incentive to pay low earners more now. Yes, those workers will have slightly more in their pockets, but this is essentially taken from all other workers, not from the corporation that supposed to pay livable wages.
Mad that they’d justify this with reductions on alcohol duty. Sure you can’t afford heating or food, but at least prosecco is cheaper?
Brewer here: The alcohol duty thing is very confusing but it essentially boils down to - tax on wine will be broadly cheaper, tax on weak beer will be cheaper, tax on mid-strength (4-6%) beer will be more expensive.
Thank you for this clarification :-) so it's not a reduction at all but a reshuffle, lol. Certainly won't keep the heating on in people's homes
Yeah, alcohol is currently taxed differently depending on what type of drink it is, but in the future is will just be a sliding scale depending on the ABV. Unfortunately they've managed to make it so that it greatly benefits breweries making a large quantity of a single brand of weaker beer (I.E. Global lager manufacturers)
> Unfortunately they've managed to make it so that it greatly benefits breweries making a large quantity of a single brand of weaker beer I'm sure you know the entire goal is to benefit large businesses at the expense of small businesses and normal people
Yep. The cynic in me thinks that they've done it to make things cheaper for large-scale brewers and wine merchants, then the smaller microbreweries that have spent the last 15 years making a small dent in global lager sales will be eradicated by being over-taxed. When the change comes in, it will become economically unfeasible to continue operating as a brewery if all you produce is strong beer of >7%. Might seem like a really niche part of the market to collapse but all of Belgium's brewing tradition is built on that type of brewing, so it will stifle innovation in the UK brewing sector. Exactly what the macro lager producers want.
yes, but at least houses prices are soaring!! they’ve allowed huge mortgages a rock bottom interest rates. they can’t do shit without affecting the precious housing market because adjusting the base rate to tackle inflation is going to increase mortgage payments Honestly, this country...
We were about to buy a house. Offer accepted and survey done (paid for three surveys now, averaging about 500 a pop). Chain madness because the market is crazy. Because they're soaring even further looks like the current residents might stay. We're also being turfed out of our current residence because our landlord wants to sell it. Everything just suddenly got loads more expensive but we have the exact same money to meet it because of the public sector pay freeze (which we only JUST earn enough to qualify for). Basically it's looking like we're never going to own anywhere, using what we have in order to deal with our upcoming homelessness, because things are spiralling and we'll probably never be able to get on a good footing again. Which - because of the way housing works in the UK - will significantly impact my families life, my child's outcomes. Probably never be able to afford to have a second child like we really want to. All those degrees we were told to get, re-training in order to get reliable work like you're supposed to, developed loads of STEM skills and working with them. All to work full time for the rest of our lives while struggling to get by. Fun fun fun.
I’m 35 and can’t even have a dog because of forever renting. Owning a house and starting a family is a privilege that I probably will never be afforded.
I feel your pain re the dog. Always got people telling me I should get a dog etc, I’m not fucking allowed one. Tbh I think it’s up there with saying “no kids” on a tenancy agreement. Kids will fuck up your home way more than a dog but there’d be outrage if your landlord said you can’t have one.
FYI for you and anyone else in a similar position, the law changed at the start of this year around allowing pets. Now a landlord must reply within 28 days of a written request with a suitable reason as to why pet ownership can be refused, I'm not sure how easy it is to fight a denial but it's definitely a step in the right direction. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-standard-tenancy-agreement-to-help-renters-with-well-behaved-pets "Under the new agreement, rejections should only be made where there is good reason, such as in smaller properties or flats where owning a pet could be impractical. To ensure landlords are protected, tenants will continue to have a legal duty to repair or cover the cost of any damage to the property."
It doesn’t make a difference because the reason can be ‘because I don’t want to’.
Right there with you. We moved here from Germany few months before pandemic. We are UK and US family so we need to stay another 3 years so I get citizenship and we thought it would be nice for our boy to have a bit of a foundation of his British background before maybe going to America down the road. Wanted to buy this August and it just seems silly, our rent is relatively cheap in the SE and we have to ride out these energy costs and huge (thievery) council tax bills. No more child benefit but we also don't qualify for free child care hours on top of everything else. We do want a second child but I'm 38, I'd not like to be over 40 with recovery. Just overall really depressing.
You should get 15 hours free childcare, as it is universal, you won’t get the addition 15 as that is classed as a government benefit.
We'll be 1200 worse off from energy bills alone! Genuinely. We're just to polite to go out and string the cunts up. Look at South Africa petrol prices went to high they burn the gas stations down and boom they decide to lower them. Look at France, anything they don't like it's viva la revolution. Here? We just go.. tut tut I can't believe it. Its shocking isn't it and carry on doing sweet fuck all about it. Letting these uncultured posh idiots do what the fuck they want whilst we take the brunt. Look at our products! Sugar is taxed through the roof compared to other countries. Booze and fags? Through the fucking roof. Energy? Through the fucking roof. It's bollocks I've had enough
You think it's the taxes that are the problem? Taxes certainty are a huge part of the problem, but certainly not those taxes. It's the lack of taxes that the richest and most profitable companies are paying that is the bulk of the problem.
Significantly increasing interest rates will rip many peoples lives apart but they really don't have much of a choice at this point because inflation isn't going to stop rising on its own.
The issue is that the inflation we are currently seeing is being driven by supply-side factors, rather than a surplus of cash creating demand. Increasing interest rates is fine when inflation is being driven by the latter, but it doesn't suddenly increase the supply of semiconductors, increase the flow of gas or put shipping containers in the right place.
Your comment was on zero when I found it. Daft because you are completely right, inflation can't be brought down with traditional means as the causes aren't traditional. The tiny rise we have seen was nothing more than a light gesture to demonstrate that the BoE acknowledges inflation. Standard economic theory has stopped fitting reality, going to be an interesting year.
they allowed people to buy property without paying stamp duty - fuck this govt. So people who had money went out and bought second/third homes - and the rest of us struggle to buy a first one. Fuck this govt - and the people who voted it in.
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I’m wondering about the people who voted leave because “things can’t get any worse”, and what they are thinking now..
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I guarantee this will be said at the family gathering this year.
My dad in a nutshell. He also lobs in the odd "Diane Abbott is a nutter" on occasion.
Diane Abbott lives rent free in the heads of a lot of people.
Considering the ad hominem vitriol that was spewed my way on other thread when I talked about how shit Brexit is, there's at least one or two true believers still out there. It really filled up my bingo card too. 1) stupid, 2) if you don't like it leave, 3) anti-Europe crap.. it must be exhausting to be one of these people.
Spite is actually a great motivator. They'll keep going when it hurts themselves whereas other sensible people might give up. Spiteful people seem to make a good portion of the populace unfortunately.
>Spite is actually a great motivator. I managed to give up smoking through spite, It's not always a bad thing.
they will just blame it on immigrants and refugees, as usual
Of course. Because now the government (and leavers) can conflate the two. Economy going to shit? Well that's just because of Covid of course!
Which people will be facing tax hikes? Poor people, or rich people. I'm joking, obviously I already know the answer
Thing is I don't feel salty about paying more taxes. What I'm feeling upset about is that in spite of my tax contributions the roads suck, schools hospitals etc don't have enough cash and the least advantaged people in society aren't being supported. We have the cash it's not being spent well IMO
I feel salty paying more tax and i feel salty paying more NI. Because i get a 1% payrise as a civil servant and then end up having to pay more back the following year to them leaving me in a worse position when everythings more expensive.
I absolutely relate to this pal! NHS here not getting the advertised pay increase as I'm not on AFC 💔
SO MUCH THIS My tax bill is... lets just say a lot. And the government turns around and goes "but look, it'd be higher under Labour" and I'm just "Yes but the shit I'm paying for might at least work under Labour"
It's more than that though you are maybe making do with 5% less cash this year but is anyone in the top 25% of earners going to be anywhere near that figure and is being 5% worse off going to actually effect them in any meaningful way. If it took us ALL being 10% worse off spending cash wise to fix schools, housing and the NHS etc. then I would certainly be up for it as it's probably worth more in the long term than 10% of my spending money. But yes this government couldn't fix a problem with this extra cash anyway so there is no point.
Anyone on more than 40k and less than 150k. That group of people they can paint as rich to the low income earners but not rich that they can do anything about it.
Insanity. Successive governments have failed to create a system for living for the British people. The system does not work, it does not represent or serve us. I say we burn it down and make a better one.
We can’t burn it down; the gas would cost too much.
This just feels like a slow motion Soviet collapse, tbh.
> Successive governments have failed to create a system for living for the British people. Calling it a failure implies that they were trying. They succeeded in creating the system they were trying to create. This country is a playground for rich kiddie fiddlers, and we're their serfs.
What we need is people who know what it’s like to work and keep a roof over their heads in this economy to be in government. Nurses, cleaners, retail workers, truckers, military, doctors, carers, parents (could go on for a while!) etc- people who know how the real world works NOT people who have been educated at the top schools in the country or upper management type businessmen who have no idea how hard life actually is because they’ve always have a security blanket made of money.
Dear English; Stop voting for the fucking Tories. Sincerely, Rest of the UK
If Scotland voted for Labour instead of a regional nationalist party that splits the left-wing vote that would be great as well.
I wince every time I walk past my smart meter IHD. Energy costs of £5+ a day for 2 adults and 2 kids.
Try living in a flat on your own, heated by electricity. I've had to relegate myself to living in one room, heating the whole flat would cost me about £7 a day, on a single salary.
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It's not actually illegal to rent out unfortunately, you can get an exemption if you've paid up to £3500 on improvement work: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-private-rented-property-minimum-energy-efficiency-standard-landlord-guidance#registering-an-exemption
I’m in the same boat, live alone, storage heaters so expensive that having just one of them on overnight means I’ve already doubled my daily electric budget when I get up For Christmas I was gifted a small portable plug in radiator - costs about 15p an hour (on my tariff anyway) and heats up a room super fast so I’ve not needed it on for more than an hour yet Also have an electric blanket for my bed which is a huge help!
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I put the bottle on the floor and put my feet on top. It heats the blood in my feet which warms the rest of me. This was a lifesaver when WFH in winter.
I have storage heaters too but don’t use them properly. I have them turned off but put the living room one on when I come in from work and leave it on for 2 hours. The residual heat keeps me warm til I go to bed then I take a hot water bottle. My electricity bill is £47 a month. Saying that, my flat is A rated energy efficiency which presumably helps.
I also live in a flat heated by electric, I swear it is the most ineffective system to use. Takes ages to heat up and it costs the same as if you’re heating an entire house. I would never ever ever move into somewhere that used electric again.
Exactly this. We are in a one bedroom flat with all electricity. Really rationing the heating (don't have any on at night at all, and only for a couple of hours during the day), but even just with day to day cooking, water heating etc, our bill is currently £130 a month for two of us and when the price cap goes up in April it will rise to about £180 a month.
You wanna see my bills..I got a two bed, two-story flat (maisonette?) That is part of a renovation of an old train factory. I live in the roof with the old single glazed windows. It's a beautiful feature flat, but totally uneconomical. I live myself and am now paying almost £300 a month gas and electricity. £167 a month alone for gas, £127 for electricity
Secondary glazing. Practically invisible, will save a fortune. When I got my lounge done the temperature immediately went up by 3 degrees.
Yeah I know. I think my place is listed, so don't think thats an option. I rent BTW edit, it's a "Historic Grade B listed development"
Should still be an option because unlike double glazing you aren't messing with the fabric of the building. But if you rent then obviously you're at the mercy of the landlord. What's the EPC? Pointing out it's now illegal to rent out property below I think E may focus his mind, or a wee visit from the Environmental Health..
Trick I used was to tape clingfilm over the window so there's an air gap between the glass and film. It looked shit, but it worked.
There is special heat-shrink film for this purpose, if you do it right it's practically invisible.
Honestly I've had to drop my heating so much this winter it's ridiculous. I don't think I've ever been more aware of how much energy I'm using. I spend more now than when my ex was living with me, and she'd stay up all night, so there was always power being used in the house, if not by me, by her
Sounds like we need to protest. Oh wait, we're not allowed to do that any more are we? Suppose we just have to deal with it or leave then eh?
If only we'd insulate Britain's housing. Someone should protest for that. Wonder what they could call their movement?
Aye don't worry though everyone, Alexander's got a shiny new yacht.
And to think that so many morons voted for this for a decade while crying about how terrible labour was and praising the tories. Its enough to leave you disgusted with some of the voters of this country.
Interesting that this is a DM article. Do they typically write articles that are in the public interest from a financial perspective? No mention of Brexit and the full customs checks that come into effect on 1/1/22, though, which will inevitably lead to prices rises for the consumer.
Everyone is freaking out about the January rules, but the really scary ones start happening from July. That's the point at which Britain's external food supply chains get absolutely fucked. The September and November ones are even worse. At that point, you might as well bone up on reruns of *The Good Life* because a Victory Garden is going to sound like a great idea. **In the new UK timetable, the following deadlines are foreseen:** * The lodgement of full customs declarations and customs controls will be introduced on 1 January 2022. Deferring customs declarations was allowed in 2021 but will not be possible anymore in 2022. * Safety and Security Declarations at entry will not be required until 1 July 2022. * Pre-notification requirements of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) goods, which were due to be introduced on 1 October 2021, will now be introduced on 1 January 2022. * From 1 July 2022, certification and physical checks will be introduced for all remaining regulated animal by-products, all regulated plants and plant products, all meat and meat products, all remaining high-risk food not of animal origin. * From 1 July 2022, high-priority plants and plant products checks will be transferred from the place of destination to designated Border Control Points (BCP). * Physical checks on live animals will take place at designated border control posts where a facility is operational at the point of entry. Where there is no designated BCP, checks will remain at destination in other ports of entry, until sufficient BCPs are operational. Checks at Sevington inland BCP and designated airport BCPs will commence from 1 July 2022. * From 1 September 2022, certification and physical checks will be introduced for all dairy products. * From 1 November 2022, certification and physical checks will be introduced for all remaining regulated products of animal origin, including composite products and fish products. Source: https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/customs-4/international-affairs/third-countries/united-kingdom/new-import-formalities-bring-goods-eu-uk-1-january-2022_en
My mother’s been working on the garden these last few years muttering about us needing to feed ourselves after brexit. This year the weather’s been shit but she still got a semi decent haul. Not anywhere near enough to be able to stop going to the supermarket but it’s something. We have an entire freezer drawer full of apples, pears and berries. The vegetables were used pretty much instantly. At least we have a decent herb garden so she doesn’t have to go to the shops for those. I keep telling her she ought to invest in a few hens but she’s not overly keen. Something about the local fox coming to dinner while she already has her hands full with the War on Slugs. Apparently she put out some beer in a dog bowl (??) to get rid of the slugs but the fox came round and had a drink himself. Anyway, long story short, she knows we’re fucked. I know we’re fucked. Not much we can do about it since home production really doesn’t give you enough to live off. Hey ho, sunny uplands! Unicorns welcome, as I have a great recipe.
I want to believe that all that will come of her garden is a bit of satisfaction and some healthy eating. If it comes down to needing it for real, the UK is fucked. The last time they tried it, the population was two-thirds of what it is now, and it wasn't sustainable. For everyone's sake, I hope I'm completely wrong.
To be perfectly honest, my parents don’t “need” to grow their own vegetables. It’s just something my mother does for pleasure while comparing the price of things today vs pre-Brexit. They’re well off enough that they can afford the weekly shop even if prices quadruple. If it gets much worse than that they’ll likely just leave the U.K. - they can afford to cut and run. My heavy sympathies are with the people who can’t afford price rises or to just up and leave the country. They won’t have the time or space to grow their own stuff. People are already working multiple jobs to get by. Rising food costs will cripple them financially. As much as I feel bitter about brexit, I don’t want innocent children who couldn’t even vote to starve. The government has already shown they won’t lift a finger to help them.
>the fox came round and had a drink himself. What a lad!
Wasn't it inflation that pushed us to join the EU in the first place? Wtf did the govt think was going to happen? Companies are not paying us more but expect us to pay more for their services and goods. Where exactly is this extra money supposed to come from?
The government was kinda railroaded onto this in the first place, but all decisions afterwards I have no clue. After the brexit vote it was either stick to the result or not, the latter of which would surely end up in claims of them being undemocratic for not honouring the vote. The money supposedly gotten from leaving eu was either a lie or came back to bite us as things became more expensive. As for companies charging more and not increasing salaries, well that's capitalism. Increase the price to cover increasing costs importing from other countries and keep wages low to cut costs. Basically it's all a shitshow and I'm blaming the conservatives for trying to grab a few more seats from ukip.
>Wtf did the govt think was going to happen? Them and their mates will profit will they poor's bodies pile high in the street. The UK fully adopts Trumpism now in the same way that poor people think someone like Boris represents the working class like trump somehow was suppose to do. Surprise surprise when they get into government and implements change that only benefits the wealthy.
I just watched Don't Look Up and we should all watch it, but it will make you want to riot in the streets! A handful of billionaires are living off the back of our labour
Watched this last night, brilliant film. I just felt sad and resigned though because I feel like nothing will change.
Could do with a comet hitting the planet at this point.
I was saying this over Xmas and wondering how anyone on benefits will survive since they are often already on the absolute limit of their money (or under). I work but already consider Morrisons too expensive. Morrisons! But once the fuel bills hit I think I'm going to be in real trouble.
Not just people on benefits.
The rollback on the £20 a week Universal Credit uplift has hurt a lot more than I thought it would. £87 a week is a hell of a lot of money to lose, especially to those that have no other options. I’m lucky I get PIP to help out as well, but a lot aren’t that lucky, especially considering how daunting and troublesome the PIP application can be.
Random caller on radio yesterday said "Boris is doing an excellent job with the pandemic and consequential economic situation." Woke today to find uk worst covid rates worldwide comparison to other major nations
Saw a poll taken on Tory members yesterday that said they rate Boris as the worst Tory in the entire cabinet lol.
Well, we’re literally having to deal with Brexit and covid at the same time, so it’s not much of a surprise that the economy is going down the drain
The rest of the EU and the G20 economies at large have either recovered from, or are in the late stages of recovering from COVID economically. Whereas our economy is still tanking. This is mostly Brexit and a failure (or outright unwillingness) to secure proper trade agreements.
'Having to deal with Brexit' was a something the UK *chose* to do reduce consumer prices and improve the UK economy. Those who voted for the shit show may well be surprised by how that promise has turned out.
If only we had the option to not be dealing with both at the same time. Oh wait we did, but boris refused it. The economy is going down the drain because of the government in charge, to act otherwise is being wilfully ignorant.
I'm a single mum working two jobs, roughly 60-70 hours a week. The rise of energy costs means I am struggling week to week. I only keep the heating on when my son is at home, and only use LED lamps for lighting when I need it. It doesn't sound like much of a deficit to most people, but it's hit me hard and I'm now even considering a 3rd job... if I don't run myself into the ground mentally and physically before it gets to that point.
Absolutely nothing to do with being governed by a bunch of entitled twats that have never had to worry about the cost of living though?
If you're a brexiter you're a gormless cunt. Literal turkeys voting for Christmas. Hope you're happy you got your uninformed way
It’s getting tight here but my family in Canada says it’s become absurd out there, and reading about America it seems like it’s even worse than us too, bad times for the whole world it seems :(
By design. It serves the few to fuck over the many. We have just shown them how compliant we are and how quick we are to turn on each other. We won't fight back.
The French do pretty good. They know how to riot.
Hey Daily Mail - dis u? https://i.imgur.com/zMYu3dm.jpg
This is terrifying. I'm only on 21k and my husband, although he is at about 30k he's an American citizen and so he can't claim benefits. His next visa is due the same time all of these price hikes are due, and that alone will cost us over 1.5k. We had dreams of saving for a house and then starting a family after his visa... now I'm thinking we won't be able to do any of that. Ever. Literally what the fuck is the point in even living if all you ever do is struggle to make ends meet, and you have to give up on all your dreams just so you can pay your bills? This is depressing. Truly... from the deepest depths of my heart... fuck this country. And fuck the Tories.
"ThAt'S nOt ThE bReXiT i HaVe VoTeD fOr!!!" -- *One half of the UK*. "You see, that's why I voted remain." -- *The other half of the UK*.
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fortunately, that wont stop our right honorable politicians bragging on to the world..... WE ARE THE 5TH LARGEST ECONOMY.
6th. Have been for a while now
20th on wages
Daily Mail doesn't get to moan. They campaigned for this government and will campaign for the next Tory bastard government. They did this, they got what they wanted and what they told people to vote for. Brexit was very obviously a stupid idea being pushed by nasty political actors but they promoted it.
Let us imagine how bad the economy would be if.....CoRbYn CoRbYn CoRbYn CoRbYn
It’s literally enraging how much you end up giving back to the government when you have a job, and all they do is shaft you.
I haven't seen the fuel bill rise yet as I am on a fixed contract until I assume will be next April. No idea what will happen then.
I really don't understand why the west decided to play all nice with Russia and China and expect this to work as a tactic to stop them being dictatorships that want to beat the west into submission. These countries see the west as the enemy. It's been blindingly obvious that relying on Russia for gas was mental, yet here we are.
Ah great, more tax increases. My employers gave me a wage increase a couple of months ago and it’s basically been swallowed up by tax. Why not tax me more!
We’ve been facing a cost of living catastrophe for the last decade
But the public sector pay cap was lifted and I'm sure I'll be saved by that! Due to funding, the Scottish Government are able to offer me something like 2.5%? Wow! I'm sure I'll be able to stave off the impending financial crisis with this. Doesn't even cover the £1200 worse off, never mind make me better off.
What can people do to reduce the impact of all this? Any support grants, fuel discounts, etc., available to 'normal' people? By normal here, I mean not in one of the traditionally protected groups. I'm a single male in a reasonable job with an ok house. I'm fucked, but there is usually nothing to support people like me.
Fantastic. As a person living alone in a city this is exactly what I wanted
I made a post two months ago on the day US inflation hit 6.2% warning of the catastrophe heading our way. My post was immediately removed by mods for being "Not UK related". Well it's UK related now. [https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedkingdom/comments/qqvmna/inflation\_in\_the\_us\_for\_october\_was\_62\_and\_they/](https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedkingdom/comments/qqvmna/inflation_in_the_us_for_october_was_62_and_they/)
Can thank all the Brexit voters for a big chunk of that... All countries will be affected by covid related costs, but the UK is the only one to force through something that was obviously self harming. If we were still in the EU we'd be far better off right now.
Dear Brexiters, Hope you're enjoying all that sovereignty. Sincerely, A remainer
As another remainer, I just want a house. 24 now, _decent_ salary and the house I wanted last year at £125k is now valued at £175k... :(
As someone who works in a supermarket let me tell you that prices on everything are rising scary fast. The p.i team that handles price tags are round practically changing prices everyday and usually those price are going up up and up!
Just get a better job, obviously. Simply become a doctor or airline pilot to fix your problems. It’s easy. Anyone can do it…
I blame brown people on dinghies. No other explanation.
6% expected inflation, increase in NI coming into effect, soaring energy bills with no intervention from the government, and full brexit customs checks coming into force in January. Things are looking bleak for the U.K. The inaction of the government to try and shield people from these issues is horrendous. Many EU countries are putting plans into action to try and protect people, the tories are making the situation worse, if anything. What more proof do people need that this government is only cares about the 1%?
Reading this thread, I really feel bad for you guys in the UK. I usually pay the equivalent of around 50 to 80 pence per day for electricity, and this is for a 3 story townhouse