Poor hit hardest by UK govt. policies
According to a study by Trades Union Congress (TUC), Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation for the poorest 10 percent of households in February was 4.1 percent, compared with 3.6 percent for middle-income families and 3.3 per cent for the richest 10 percent.
“People have been getting poorer every month for the last two years as high inflation, tax rises and the dire state of the economy take their toll on family budgets,” said TUC general secretary Brendan Barber.
“Over the last year the poorest households have suffered more than anyone else from rising food prices and soaring gas and electricity bills.”
Criticizing the Coalition’s tax policies, he also urged the British government to take the crisis in living standards seriously “and put jobs and decent pay rises at the heart of its economic strategy.”
The TUC living standards index was released ahead of new inflation figures due to be published this month, also showed that with wage growth at 1.1 percent in February, the incomes of the impoverished families fell by 3 percent in real terms.
Meanwhile, John Longworth, director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), today accused the UK government of “losing the plot” over the country’s economy and attacked it for not “aiding businesses to create enterprise, generate wealth and grow.”
