Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis has warned ‘civil unrest isn’t far away’ and demanded does more to ‘keep people fed and warm’ as the crisis grips Britain.
The consumer champion, who has built a loyal following for his financial advice, said lower to middle income earners have ‘nothing left to cut back on’.
He said the rising level of affecting prices of food and heating has left people unable to find a way to pay their bills.
He warned if people cannot keep their families fed or warm then ‘civil unrest is not very far off’ and urged Rishi Sunak to ensure all middle income earners – those earning around £30,000 a year – have at least half their energy price rise covered this April.</pcook trends warm meals or have hot water.
On April 1 – nicknamed ‘Awful April’ because the cost of living crisis really began to bite – energy bills soared by 54 per cent, the equivalent of £693 per year, while petrol rose by 39 per cent, an increase of £23 per tank.
Add in increased council tax contributions, a 1.25 per cent increase in National Insurance contributions and other costs, including increased water, broadband, phone and TV bills, the average household is expected to feel the pinch this year.
Mr Lewis, who originally started using his website to help people save hundreds of pounds a year, said people are now stopping him in the street and sending him messages about how they are unable to make their finances add up.
He said he feels ‘slighty sick’ that the current cost of living crisis has forced him to start a new feature on his website called Heat The Human which includes suggestions such as putting hot water bottles inside sleeping bags as it is too expensive to heat the whole house.
‘This is one of the richest countries in the world. It’s pretty desperate, isn’t it?’ he added.
<div class="art-ins mol-factbox news floatRHS" data-version="2" id="mol-1ae70340-b8c8-11ec-8638-43a49f09dee1" website Lewis warns 'civil unrest isn't far away' due to cost of living