Cost of living crisis: Martin Lewis warns of ‘civil unrest’ Yorkshire News

The popular TV personality and founder of MoneySavingExpert admitted to being “scared for people” as inflation continues to skyrocket in Britain.

In a candid interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Lewis emphasized people’s desperation and worried about the fallout as households struggle to pay for the most basic necessities.

“We need to keep people fed. We need to keep them warm. If we get this wrong right now, then we’ll get to the point where we start to risk civil unrest. When breadwinners can’t provide, anger brews.” and civil unrest, and I don’t think we’re very far,” he said.

“I get all these messages from people who are pulling their hair out. They don’t know how to make things add up.”

The situation has become so dire that its money-saving website has had to set up a new feature that provides tips on how to stay warm without heating.

“I feel a little sick about doing it. We’re talking about hot water bottles in sleeping bag territory,” Lewis said. “This is one of the richest countries in the world. It’s pretty desperate, right?

“It’s not an exaggeration to say that there are people we have to keep them from freezing or starving to death.”

According to PwC’s latest report on the UK’s economic outlook, British households are expected to earn £900 this year in a “historic drop” in living standards. People with lower incomes face a £1,300 hit on finances and the hit could be bigger if the Ukraine crisis continues to escalate.

The report found that inflation will reach 8.4% by the end of this year, which will mean a 2% drop in household income, marking the biggest drop in real wages since the 1970s and the biggest decline in living standards since records began.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the tightening of the belt between households and businesses means the economy will grow at a slower-than-expected rate of 3.8% in 2022, down from the previously forecast 4.5% and record expansion from last year of 7.4%, the report suggests. .