London mayor Sadiq Khan said the survey published on Tuesday highlighted the burden of rising food, energy and fuel costs. (Dominic Lipinski/PA)
Almost 80 per cent of Londoners say their household bills have increased over the last six months, a new poll for City Hall has revealed.
A third have struggled to pay bills while one in eight have gone without essentials or have had to take out loans to make ends meet, YouGov found.
London mayor Sadiq Khan said the survey published on Tuesday highlighted the burden of rising food, energy and fuel costs.
He warned that forthcoming changes to income tax - with personal allowances frozen - the imposition of the 1.25 per cent social care levy and changes to benefits threatened to drive an estimated 130,000 more Londoners into poverty.
But Mr Khan will also be adding to the cost of living, with a five per cent Tube and bus fares hike due next month and his share of council tax bills rising by almost £32 a year, meaning an average London household will pay almost £400 a year for services run by City Hall – up 8.8 per cent on current levels.
Mr Khan said: “I am hugely concerned about the impact that the spiralling cost of living is having on Londoners.
“Rising food and energy prices are hitting Londoners hard and the Government’s ill-judged changes to benefits and tax are only set to make things worse.”
Katherine Hill, of 4in10 London’s Child Poverty Network, said: “A perfect storm of exorbitant rents, sky-high childcare costs, imminent fuel price hikes and surging food prices, means that across London families are struggling to meet their children’s basic needs for healthy food, a warm home and decent clothing.”
The survey also found that 23 per cent of Londoners said they were “comfortable financially” and 36 per cent said they are “coping OK financially”.
But 13 of Londoners said they were currently struggling to make ends meet, going without essentials or relying on debt.
Due to rising living costs, 45 per cent of respondents said they were spending less on non-essential items, 32 per cent had stopped spending on non-essential items altogether, and 36 per cent were buying cheaper products.
Energy costs were said to be a far bigger cause of worry than rent or mortgages, being mentioned by 75 per cent of respondents, compared with 40 per cent who were worried about rent or mortgage increases.
More than 70 per cent of Londoners were worried about future increases to living costs over the next year - with those whose household income is less than £20,000 per year, are renting from local authorities and housing associations, or have a health problem or disability most likely to be concerned.
City Hall said the cost of living was a challenge prior the pandemic, with prices in London seven per cent higher than the UK average.
In addition, housing costs take up a higher proportion of income, and the average weekly pay is 5.9 per cent lower than in 2010, when accounting for inflation, compared to 0.9 per cent across the UK.
