As voters in the UK go to the polls to choose their next government, the rising cost of living is among the main issues of concern.
Family budgets have been pressured in recent years by high inflation driven by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
Although inflation has finally returned to the central bank’s 2% target after reaching double-digit highs in 2022 and 2023, people still pay much more for essential goods, including food, than they did just a few years ago.
With public discontent over high living standards, voters on Thursday are prepared to oust the ruling Conservative Party and return the Labor Party to power for the first time since 2010.
How much more expensive is the food?
Although the Bank of England has reduced the speed at which prices rise by sharply increasing interest rates, it has not reversed the price growth that has accumulated over recent years.
Prices also continue to rise, although much more slowly than before.
Food prices are now around 31 percent higher than they were three years ago, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The prices of many basic products have risen even further.
The average price of a pint (about 0.5 liters) of milk increased by 23 pence ($0.29), or 55%.
The price of a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of sugar has increased by 45 pence ($0.57), or 63%, while a whole chicken costs an extra 1 pound and 7 pence ($1.36), or 40% more.
The effect of rising prices on people’s pockets has been compounded by years of anemic economic growth.
Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita grew just 4.3 percent between 2007 and 2023, compared with 46 percent growth in the previous 16 years, according to research by the Resolution Foundation think tank.
In this context of weak growth, wages did not keep up with inflation.
The average weekly wage in Britain rose from 581 pounds (about $800) to 687 pounds ($871) between May 2021 and April this year, an 18% increase, according to the ONS.
Is the UK experience different to other countries?
Many countries have seen high inflation amid the dual pressures of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, largely due to rising oil and gas prices.
The UK, however, has been hit harder than most other developed economies.
The UK consumer price index peaked at 11.1% in October 2022, the highest in 41 years.
For food and non-alcoholic drinks, inflation reached an even higher value of 19.2 percent.
In contrast, global inflation peaked at 9.1 percent in the United States, 8.7 percent in Germany, 8.1 percent in Canada and 6.9 percent in France.
Economists have offered several explanations for the UK’s especially high inflation, including a greater reliance on imported food, its heavy reliance on gas and labor shortages resulting from the pandemic.
What happens next?
The good news for UK consumers is that not only has inflation stabilised, but wages have been rising faster than prices since the middle of last year.
Annual regular income growth in April reached 6%, or 2.3% when adjusted for inflation.
There are also signs that store prices are falling even faster than the latest official inflation figures, which include services, energy and travel.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said on Tuesday that prices in shops and supermarkets fell 0.2 percent in June compared with the previous month.
Food inflation also slowed, from 3.2% to 2.5%, according to the trade body.
“Whoever wins Thursday’s election will benefit from the work of retailers to reduce their costs and prices, easing the cost of living for millions of families,” said BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson.
“The past few years should serve as a warning that when business costs rise significantly, consumer prices are also forced to rise.”
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
