Living standards must be focus of next year, says union boss

A SENIOR union leader is urging the Government to have a “relentless focus” on affordability in 2026 amid fresh evidence that people are still suffering from a cost-of-living crisis.

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Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC, said the UK Government needs to give people hope that things will change next year, or risk a further rise of the far and populist right.

His new year’s message follows a survey of more than 2,000 adults which revealed an “affordability crisis”, with one in five respondents saying they are skipping meals, one in three cutting back on heating and four in five saying their financial circumstances are either stagnant or getting worse.