Over the last year, the Manchester Evening News' Paige Oldfield has visited towns across Greater Manchester to find out how people are coping with the cost of living crisis. During that time, she met a man who hadn’t eaten for three days. She consoled a sobbing mother forced to light her home using candles.
But this visit to Oldham has been among the most harrowing. It took just minutes for someone to break down when asked about rising bills, while a disabled woman described being trapped upstairs for hours on end, afraid to use the mobility scooter and stair lift on which she depends.
There's hope among the gloom - a woman waiting for the factory job that will make all the difference this winter, the coming energy discount - but the fear on the streets, about the winter ahead, is palpable. There's a weary resignation too. The sense that people feel their voice won't be heard whatever happens. "It's not going to improve if I speak up," as one mother puts it.
The more expensive life has become, the more people have opened up. At times it has seemed like people have been suffering in silence, and were glad that someone, anyone, took the time to ask them what they were going through.
Glancing down at his gurgling baby boy, Anthony Warburton wipes a tear from his cheek. “I have no money in the bank,” he says as his voice begins to crack. “I haven’t got two pennies to rub together.”
Bare cupboards but stacks of baby food and nappies. It’s a scene all too familiar with desperate parents across Greater Manchester. For Anthony, from Oldham, it’s one that has pushed him to the brink.
“I put him before me,” the 41-year-old added. “I have nothing in the cupboard, nothing in the fridge. All my money is just for him.”
When asked about his future, the dad-of-three points towards the sky. “I’ll be up there,” he says. “It’s how I’m feeling at the moment."
Like thousands of others, Anthony is struggling to survive as living costs continue to rise. Following the breakdown of his marriage three months ago, he found himself living in a B&M car park. He says he now lives in a local homeless shelter.
“I have a lot of medical issues which I’m not coping with,” he told the Manchester Evening News. “I have anxiety and depression. I get Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit. If I had to pay for my gas and electric, it would take all of it. I’d end up in a tent.
“Over the last few months, I’ve done nothing but cry. I’m not eating or sleeping. It’s been rough.”
Joanne Brierley, also of Oldham, cannot walk due to multiple health problems. Unable to keep up with her rising energy costs, the 43-year-old has found herself spiralling into debt. She keeps herself locked in her bedroom in fear of using electricity to charge her mobility scooter.
“It’s cr*p,” she says. “I’m struggling with everything. I’ve had to miss one bill one week trying to catch up with another. It’s awful; it’s depressing. I’m going through a lot and it’s just horrendous.
“I have a stair lift at home, a wet room and a mobility scooter. I’m scared of using it – it’s all electric. I’m charging the scooter all the time.
“It takes its toll on me. You’re just scared to do anything. I spend most of my time upstairs in my bedroom because I don’t want to use the stair lift. I just can’t afford it.
“I have lots of letters coming through the door. I’m scared. I just don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Joanne receives a disability benefit allowance but it’s nowhere near enough to survive. The mum-of-one has almost lost all of her teeth due to her medication and being unable to access an NHS dentist.
“They just keep breaking,” she added. “Even just eating a sandwich, they break. I’m in constant agony. It’s expensive just trying to find something I can eat. Then I have to get to hospital appointments – some are in Rochdale. It costs £15 to get there and £15 to come back. I just haven’t got a spare £30.”
Her plight comes as a new Ofgem energy cap came into effect on October 1, seeing average household bills rise from £1,971 to £2,500 per year.
To help tackle soaring bills, millions of households across the UK are also set to receive a £400 energy discount. Families will start receiving £400 off their energy bills this month in six instalments. Though the grant will help ease pressure, some people believe it simply isn’t enough.
“The government should do a lot more,” Tony Higman says. “It’s very hard at the moment. Our gas and electric bills have doubled.”
The 60-year-old, who lives in Oldham, is unable to work due to suffering a brain injury five years ago. Tony was in Manchester city centre when he fell and hit his head, leaving him with short-term memory loss, permanent headaches and blackouts.
“It’s going to be a struggle,” he added. “I get Personal Independence Payment (PIP) once a month and it’s barely enough.”
Michael O’Leary also lives in a homeless shelter. The accommodation costs him £20 a week – a cost he struggles to afford. The 52-year-old gets by on one meal a day which he buys from Heron Foods.
“Food is getting dearer,” he says. “I’m struggling. I can’t budget. I spend £1.50 on a meal every day.
“I find it hard. I have paranoid schizophrenia and it’s making it worse. You can’t look forward to the future – I'm doing it day by day.”
Sandra Hughes has two sons with additional needs. Sandra, who lives in the Higginshaw Village area of Oldham, is waiting to hear back about a job at a local factory. The employment will come as a lifeline to her family.
“It’s sh** at the moment,” she says. “I have a teenage son who uses the majority of the electric. I’m having to top up when I wouldn’t have needed to before.
“If I run out of a certain type of food, they won’t have anything else. My son will only eat a certain brand of nuggets.
“We’ve had to cut back on weekends away and going out. There’s nothing I can do about it; it’s not going to improve if I speak up. You just have to get through and do without the luxuries.”
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