Tesco shoppers are asking staff to stop scanning their grocery items once they've reached a certain amount, the supermarket's chairman has said.
As households across Britain continue to feel the squeeze from the cost of living, John Allan, chairman of Tesco, has said "for the first time in many years" he is now hearing of customers asking checkout staff to limit the amount their shopping comes to. During BBC Radio 4 Today's show, the supermarket boss said the country was facing “real food poverty for the first time in a generation, and added there is an “overwhelming need” for a windfall tax on energy companies after seeing customers “extremely stretched”.
He told listeners: "I was hearing for the first time for many years of customers saying to check out staff, 'stop when you get to £40,' or something, 'I don't want to spend a penny over that.' You know, as opposed to having everything checked out and settling the bill at the end.
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"So I think a lot of people are feeling something of a pinch and lots of people are actually feeling extremely stretched." When asked what he would like to hear from the Queen’s Speech, John said he'd like there to be more action to help people cope with a very, very sharp increase in energy prices.
He continued: "It’s harder for people to mitigate energy than it is with food, and I think there’s an overwhelming case for a windfall tax on profits from those energy producers fed back to those most in need of help with energy prices. I think that would be the single biggest thing that could be done.” He added that he thinks energy companies are “expecting it” and doubts “they would actually be much fazed by it”.
Political parties such as Labour and the Liberal Democrats have called for a windfall tax on oil and gas firms to aid with the cost-of-living crisis.
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