Around 1.3 million Britons will be pushed into absolute poverty by the cost of living squeeze, after the chancellor failed to offer more support to low income households in his Spring Statement, the Resolution Foundation, an economic think tank, has said.
This is the first time, outside of a recession, in which poverty has risen so sharply. Wages are failing to keep pace with inflation, which is set to peak above 8 per cent next month, and average 7.4 per cent this year. The soaring cost of living comes as taxes are also set to rise in April. Some half-a-million children will be among those pushed into poverty by this squeeze on households, the think tank said.
