Quarter of UK households regularly run out of money for essentials, survey says

theguardian.com:

One in four households regularly run out of money for essentials and voters do not believe the government is doing enough to help, a group of charities have said.

Nearly 40% of people end the month with no money left, while 24% run out of money for essentials either most months or most days, a survey found.

The assessment by the Together Through This Crisis initiative, whose members are Save the Children, Shelter, Turn2us, Little Village and 38 Degrees, adds to the growing welter of indicators that persistent double-digit inflation and soaring energy bills are having a widespread impact on UK households and may do so at the ballot box.

The Office for National Statistics released figures on Monday showing that more than half of renters would not be able to afford an unexpected £850 bill, prompting calls for ministers to unfreeze housing benefit, which is stuck at 2020 levels.

Macmillan Cancer Support separately warned that cancer patients were resorting to selling possessions and using loan sharks to make ends meet. In findings it described as “heartbreaking”, the charity said a third of patients had been buying or eating less food, and 22% had been spending more time in bed to stay warm, while there had been a jump in the number of calls to its helpline about financial issues.

The research by the frontline charities signals the widening political risk of the cost of living crisis. Even among the 10 most affluent constituencies in the UK, 19% of people said they found themselves unable to pay for food or bills by the end of most months, according to the survey by Together Through This Crisis.

Matthew McGregor, the chief executive of 38 Degrees, a charity that organises campaigning petitions, said: “This polling paints a bleak