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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Business
Bradley Jolly

Martin Lewis warns civil unrest 'isn’t far away' due to rising living costs

Money guru Martin Lewis has warned civil unrest "isn't far away" as people will "get angry" about the rise in living costs.

The financial journalist, 49, said the Government must do more to help families across the UK struggling to make ends meet as the prices of food and fuel rise and taxes go up.

The broadcaster, often seen on ITV's This Morning and Good Morning Britain, added: "We need to keep people fed. We need to keep them warm. If we get this wrong right now, then we get to the point where we start to risk civil unrest.

"When breadwinners cannot provide, anger brews and civil unrest brews – and I do not think we are very far off.

Martin Lewis shared 'grave' concerns over cost of living crisis (mirror.co.uk)

"I would like to see more. But this is a Conservative government."

Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Lewis described how he is "most scared for people" across the nation.

Energy bills look set to drain our pockets the most over the next year and the Bank of England has raised interest rates to 0.75%, plunging many Brits into despair.

Annual food bills are going up by around £180 and council tax bills will go up by an average of £67 nationwide.

The money expert regularly offers advice on how to manage personal finances (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

At the same time, National Insurance costs will also rise by 1.25 percentage points. An increase by 1.25% points might seem negligible, but people's contributions are actually increasing by more than 10%.

And, speaking on Friday, Boris Johnson conceded the cost-of-living crisis is "only going to get worse".

This is despite pressure growing on the Prime Minister and his Cabinet to do more to help people.

Gesturing at a portrait of Margaret Thatcher during an interview with GB News, Mr Johnson proclaimed: “At times of difficulty Mrs Thatcher had state spending running very, very high as a proportion of GDP because of economic difficulties that the country was in.

“So something like Covid I think she would have dealt with in the exact same way."

Boris Johnson admitted he thinks the cost-of-living crisis will worsen before it eases (AFP via Getty Images)

Mr Lewis, who grew up in Withington, Manchester, said: “This is one of the richest countries in the world. It’s pretty desperate, isn’t it?”

He also criticised Chancellor Rishi Sunak's decision to knock 5p off fuel duty.

The cut in fuel duty means the rate will be reduced to 52.92p for both petrol and diesel from 6pm until March next year. The current rate is 57.95p per litre.

Fuel duty is included in the price drivers pay at the pumps, with VAT at 20% charged on top of the total price.

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