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Category: food bills

  • Brexit added £6bn to UK food bills, study finds

    Brexit has caused a food price hike of nearly £6bn in the last two years, according to new research. The study by the London School of Economics (LSE) states that the rise in prices is due to increased red tape. That’s somewhat of an irony given Brexit was often touted as a way to reduce bureaucracy and added costs.

    The study says that the average household spent £210 more in 2020 and 2021. Researchers at LSE’s Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) said that it was poorer families, who spend a larger portion of their income on food, who would feel the worst effects.

    Going hungry

    The authors said:

    We find that leaving the European Union increased the price of food products by 3% a year, leading to a 6% increase over a two-year period.

    The researchers wanted to understand the impact of so-called ‘non-tariff barriers’ (NTBs) on prices. Their findings were grim:

    One Twitter user was bemused, recalling the great steps forward Brexit was meant to deliver:

    The report’s publication comes only a day after prime minister Rishi Sunak took a pasting in the Commons over his own Brexit position:

    Sunak had been told to admit that Brexit was a significant cause of UK economic problems by the Scottish National Party’s Ian Blackford. We won’t hold our breath for that.

    Brexit freedom?

    Sunak was also slammed for suggesting that Brexit increased ‘freedom‘ in the UK:

    People had zero time for arch-Brexiteer Nigel Farage, who decided to go on a rant about the EU banning Twitter:

    Farage’s claim seemed to be in relation to report that Twitter owner Elon Musk could drop moderation rules for the app. Reuters reported on 30 November that the EU had issued a warning that Twitter must abide by its strict content rules.

    Best efforts

    Meanwhile, some people were still searching in vain for a single benefit of leaving the EU:

    Despite the weight of evidence, supporters of Brexit continue to flail around to find benefits of leaving the EU. In the case of Rishi Sunak that includes coming up with spurious arguments about freedom. The truth is it’s long been clear that Brexit is not what it was cracked up to be – and it will continue to be the poorest who suffer the worst effects

    Featured image via Wikimedia Common/Cabinet Office, cropped to 770 x 403, licensed under Open Government License.

    By Joe Glenton

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Cost of living jumps for two-thirds of UK adults

    Two-thirds of UK adults have seen their cost of living jump over the past month as energy bills soared and price rises filtered down to supermarket shelves. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that 66% of adults surveyed saw their cost of living increase.

    Its report also showed the impact of the Omicron variant of coronavirus on UK businesses last month, with the highest proportion of firms reporting falling monthly turnover since the height of the first lockdown in April 2020.

    The ONS said VAT returns revealed a net 6% of firms suffered declining sales in December.

    Hikes in food and energy prices

    Its household survey found that of those who saw their cost of living rise, 87% of people reported increasing food shop prices, while 79% cited rising energy bills. The poll – carried out between January 6 to 16 – showed nearly three-quarters (71%) said increases in the price of fuel had also driven up the cost of living.

    It comes after official figures on Wednesday showed that inflation soared to a near 30-year high of 5.4% in December. The leap came as households faced surging food prices on top of sky-high energy and fuel bills.

    More increases expected

    Experts have warned that the cost-of-living squeeze will get even tighter over the next few months as gas and electricity tariffs are expected to rise by around 50% in April.

    The Bank of England raised interest rates from 0.1% to 0.25% last month as it said inflation would hit 6% in the spring – and more increases are expected to rein in rising prices.

    An increased number of diners

    The ONS figures showed there was some respite for the battered hospitality sector in the face of the Omicron wave, with a rise in the number of restaurant-goers in the UK. It estimated a 5 percentage point rise in UK seated diners over the week to January 17, to 93% of the level in the equivalent week of 2020.

    This compares with just 88% of 2020 levels seen in the previous week, with cancellations rife across the sector. The ONS also said that retail shopper numbers were up 2% in the week to January 15. So-called footfall numbers were 79% of the level seen in the equivalent week of 2019, it added.

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.