The dust had settled a day after Rishi Sunak swept through a Sainsbury’s petrol forecourt in south east London as part of a publicity event for his spring statement.
While the chancellor of the exchequer was mocked on social media for posing for publicity pictures showing him pumping petrol into someone else’s Kia Rio – later telling staff that he hoped customers “would be a bit happier” with fuel duty coming down – it was the wider cost of living squeeze that was foremost in the minds of many passersby on Thursday.
Some motorists at the petrol station welcomed a 5p-a litre-cut to fuel duty, though others using an adjacent supermarket characterised the spring statement as a missed opportunity to assist them with potentially crippling daily living costs and increasingly costly bills.
George, 65, and Geraldine 70 Bridges
Two retirees on the way to do a weekly shop at Sainsbury’s, across from the petrol forecourt
Geraldine: “If I had known that Rishi Sunak was here yesterday I would have gone up to him and really said that we feel forgotten about. We’re already struggling to pay our energy bill at the moment and it’s going to be going up about £585 a year.
“We’re just going to do a shop in Sainsbury’s now and we’ve had to change things drastically there too. It’s all yellow label [discounted] items, which we either batch cook things like chilli or put it in the freezer.”
“George is on a pension and I am on universal credit and it just feels like it’s one thing after another. Our daughter has been paraplegic since an operation some years ago so we have the two children with us. We bought a motorhome some years ago thinking that we could use it in retirement but we can’t bring it back into London because they want £300 from the congestion charge. It’s stuck outside London.”
Dave Young
Telecoms engineer and father taking break before his next job
“The national insurance change [the threshold at which employees pay national insurance contributions (NICs) will be lifted by £3,000 to £12,570 a year] was what registered with me because it’s left me three, four hundred pound better off a year. I’m a conservative and I believe that what he has done is good overall since the pandemic, so I have no real complaints about it. Income tax? Well, to be seen to be reducing taxes is an election winner isn’t it ?
“Our gas has gone up so we’re not entirely happy about that so it’s very much an up and down spike. They also have the cap in place. I’ve heard somebody say they’d rather be paying more in energy than bombs dropping on us.
“I used to have my own car, a big guzzler, so I feel sorry for people who do still have a car to be honest.”
Alina Davies
A mother of three, originally from Ukraine, returning home after a supermarket shop
“I wasn’t aware that the chancellor was here yesterday but there’s a lot that could be done. Personally, I feel that food should be cheaper – particularly for people who have children – and even help with the cost of activities.
“Other things could change too. I am not working at the moment because we have three children and it makes more sense for me to be looking after them full-time.
“To be honest I wasn’t so aware of the energy price increase that’s coming but everything – whether it’s council tax or daily items – does seem to be increasing in price at the moment, so that won’t help.”
Felicia Kekeke
A grandmother on the way to do a supermarket shop
“I saw something about Rishi Sunak and what he was announcing on the news last night but I didn’t realise that he was here. If I had known I would have told him that it’s a real struggle.
“My energy bills especially are going up, and I’m concerned at the moment because I’ve just recently got a letter telling me that was going to be going up – I think it was British Gas – by about 54 percent.
“That’s a lot because at the moment I’m paying about £1,000 for my energy.
“I don’t really feel like the government is doing enough to help people at the moment who are being squeezed, or worse.
“It’s just me at home at the moment – my husband died some years ago – but I have grownup children who come to visit me. We’d all like to be able to spend more on our family but we’ve had to cut back. I’m lucky at the moment to be working (local catering) but don’t spend anything on clothes at the moment for example.”
Piers Warburton
Finance worker and father, returning home
“I’m a Green voter who doesn’t have much time for the Conservatives really, so while I was aware of what was happening I didn’t have much faith that it would be anything different from usual.
“He and Boris are doing their Brexit, or post-Brexit, thing basically. Isn’t he?
“I have four children and that can really be a struggle, especially when you factor in the cost of childcare.
“Like a lot of people it can feel like you’re taking things on a month-by-month basis. We’re aware that it’s going to be tight when it comes to the energy bills for example.”
