Skip to content
Search
AI Powered
Latest Stories

Benefits to plunge to 50-year-low as expert warns of 'civil unrest'

expert warns of ‘civil unrest’
Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images
AFP via Getty Images

Benefits in the UK will plunge to their lowest value in 50 years, stated anti-poverty campaigners today (11), as Britons grapple with the worst cost of living crisis since 1972 amid rising food and fuel costs and warnings of civil unrest.

Despite everyday prices rising as much as 8 percent and gas and electricity bills almost doubling to £2,000 a year, the state pension and most other state benefits will rise by 3.1 percent today.


Charities, Labour and others have called on the chancellor Rishi Sunak to do more to help those on middle and low incomes get through the crisis.

So far ministers have resisted calls to restore the £20-a-week uplift to universal credit that was introduced during the pandemic.

Ministers announced in November that the state pension, universal credit and a host of other benefits would rise by 3.1 percent, implying basic state pension rising by £4.25 to £141.85 per week, while the full new state pension will rise by £5.55 to £185.15. The figure was calculated according to the consumer price index (CPI) for the year up to September 2021 though prices of most essentials have rocketed in the following months amid supply chain crisis and crunch in basic food supply owing to Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Meanwhile, the money-saving expert Martin Lewis has said that the UK could experience “civil unrest” later this year if the government fails to take decisive action.

“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,” Lewis said in an interview with Sunday Telegraph.

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

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

A further rise for the energy cap is expected in October. It is thought that inflation could reach 8.4 percent this year, according to an economic outlook report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, while Lewis said he thinks real inflation could even go as high as 12 percent.

More for you

 a glass jar of honey
Photo: iStock

British beekeepers urge retailers to stock local honey as imported products fail authenticity test

British Beekeepers’ Association (BBKA), which represents hobbyist beekeepers, has urged retailers to stock local honey, after a new research raised significant questions about the composition of blended honey samples imported to the UK and sold at supermarkets.

In a recent authenticity test, 96 per cent of samples of imported honey from supermarkets were found to be ‘atypical’ for honey, compared to 100 per cent of UK beekeeper samples that were deemed ‘typical’.

Keep ReadingShow less
​Illegal vapes

Illegal vapes seized in Swindon raids

Photo: Wiltshire Police

Five arrested after seizure of illegal vapes worth thousands of pounds in Swindon

Wiltshire Police have arrested five people and seized more than £55,000 worth of illicit vapes, tobacco and alcohol following a series of warrants in the Broadgreen area of Swindon.

In a joint operation HMRC and Trading Standards, officers executed four warrants in Manchester Road at three stores and a property on Tuesday as part of the force’s ongoing Clear Hold Build work within Broadgreen.

Keep ReadingShow less
Volumatic welcomes new FCA rules safeguarding access to cash

Volumatic welcomes new FCA rules safeguarding access to cash

As industry leaders is cash handling, Volumatic has long supported the use of cash and the importance of maintaining access to cash for both consumers and businesses. The company recognises the importance of the new set of rules created by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) two months ago, to safeguard access to cash for businesses and consumers across the UK.

Since introduction, the new rules are intended to ensure that individuals and businesses who rely on cash can continue to access it and the outcome has already sparked the creation of 15 new banking hubs across the UK, including one in Scotland, with many more to follow.

Keep ReadingShow less
Jisp unveils new NPD service

Jisp unveils new NPD service

Retail technology company Jisp has launched an NPD service as part of its new Direct to Retailer business unit.

The new NPD service will allow brands to launch or trial new products in a guaranteed number of convenience store locations, with on the ground review of execution by Jisp’s retail growth manager team, and performance data and insights deliverable through its scanning technology and back-office systems.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tesco launches price cuts in Express convenience stores
File image of Tesco Express

Tesco launches price cuts in Express convenience stores

Tesco is slashing the price of more than 222 own-brand and branded products in its Express convenience stores.

Essentials including milk, bread, pasta and coffee are included in the lines which have been reduced in price by an average of more than 10 per cent at Tesco Express stores. The retail giant has made more than 2,800 price cuts across stores in recent months. With 2,048 of convenience stores at the end of the 2023-24 financial year, Tesco aims to benefit hundreds of thousands of customers from the cheaper deals.

Keep ReadingShow less