More than 1 in 7 skipping meals and going without food in Yorkshire and Humber – TUC mega poll reveals

More than 1 in 7 (15%) people in Yorkshire and Humber are skipping meals or going without food, a new TUC mega poll has revealed today (Tuesday).

The MRP poll of 10,000 people across the UK, reveals how the cost of living emergency is hitting family budgets in every single parliamentary constituency – and that more government action is needed to raise wages and cut bills.

Skipping meals

The poll – carried out for the TUC by Opinium – shows that 1 in 7 (15%) people across Yorkshire and Humber are having to skip meals or go without food to make ends meet.

However, in 8 of the region’s parliamentary constituencies this number rises to 1 in 5 or above.

Leeds Central (23%) has the highest number of constituents having to skip meals or miss out on food, followed by Kingston upon Hull (23%).

Cutting back on food spending

The mega survey also reveals that nearly half (44%) of Yorkshire and Humber residents are having to cut back on food spending.

This proportion varies again in different parts of the region.

In Leeds West, Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough, Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, Bradford West and Leeds East, more than 1 in 2 constituents are cutting back on food spending.

However, in wealthier constituencies like Richmond this still affects nearly 2 in 5 (37%) constituents. Likewise in Harrogate and Knaresborough, 35% of constituents are affected.

Rising bills

The poll - published in the same week the government reduced long-term support for energy bills - shows households across Britain are still deeply worried about rising bills.

Over Yorkshire and Humber’s population, nearly 3 in 5 (58%) are cutting back on heating, hot water or electricity.

And in some parts of the region this number is higher, with 62% of residents in Calder Valley cutting back on heating, hot water or electricity.

Nearly 1 in 12 (8%) of those polled report missing payment of a household bill.

However, this number rises nearly 2 in 5 (17%) in Leeds Central.

In Richmond, former chancellor Rishi Sunak’s constituency:

• More than half have cut back on hot water, heating or electricity
• 1 in 10 have gone without food or skipped a meal
• More than 1 in 20 have missed a payment of a household bill. 

Benefits and wages

The TUC says the findings were a “stark reminder” of the cost of living pressures facing households throughout the UK.

The union body says the government must:

• Stick to plans to uprate universal credit, benefits and pensions in line with inflation, and bring forward this uprating to before April. This must be the first step on a route to higher levels of universal credit, benefits and pensions.
• Get pay rising across the economy by backing trade unions and allowing unions to negotiate pay rises across whole sectors.
• Give key workers in the public sector cost of living proofed pay rises
• Raise the minimum wage to £15 an hour as soon as possible,

Today’s poll reveals that 2 in 3 (66%) in Yorkshire and Humber back raising the minimum wage to £15 an hour.

TUC Regional Secretary Bill Adams said:

“No one should have to worry about putting food on the table or heating their homes. But households across the region are struggling to cover even the basics.

“This polling lays bare Yorkshire and Humber’s cost of living emergency.

“Food and energy bills are soaring, but real wages are plummeting.  

“Unless we get pay rising across the economy – and ensure benefits rise in line with inflation - we risk heading towards Victorian levels of poverty.

“The Conservatives should be working with unions to help households get through this crisis. But they want to make it harder for working people to win better pay and conditions.”

On the need to boost wages, Bill added:

“Instead of giving bungs to bankers and big business, ministers need to get money into people’s pockets.

“That’s the best way to boost spending in local economies and to deliver lasting growth.”

ENDS