Centre for London response to ONS inflation figures, May 2022

Responding to the latest inflation figures, Claire Harding, Research Director at Centre for London said:

“Today’s news that prices are rising even faster won’t be a surprise to Londoners. Every day, they are feeling the impact of increasing energy costs, rising food prices, hikes in council tax, national insurance and public transport fares.

Inflation is hitting Londoners on the lowest incomes hardest, many of whom already struggled to make ends meet. Surging prices have left them making brutal daily choices between food and other essentials, which in a city with as much wealth in it as London is shocking.

There’ll be growing pressure on ministers to bring in measures that provide emergency relief for those hit hardest, such as increasing Universal Credit. Without this, there risks being a big leap in the numbers falling below the poverty line.”