New survey finds 35% of Londoners using less water, energy or fuel, reports Noah Vickers, Local Democracy Reporter

Volunteers at a foodbank — credit Joel Munic via Unsplash

The number of Londoners who say they are financially struggling amid the cost-of-living crisis remains stubbornly high, new figures reveal.

YouGov polling, commissioned by City Hall, shows that 21% of London adults were ‘financially struggling’ in September – the same as in August and July and a drop of just two points from the 23% who said they were struggling in June. Back in January 2022, the figure was 12%.

The survey also found that 35% of Londoners are using less water, energy or fuel due to the high cost of living. The figure rises to 43% for social renters, 45% for those in households earning less than £20,000 per year, and 50% for those whose “activities [are] limited by health or disability”.

London mayor Sadiq Khan said it was evidence the government needed to do more to combat the rising cost of living.

“I’m hugely concerned about the impact that winter will have on Londoners who are already struggling due to the ongoing cost of living crisis.

“Charities are seeing huge demand on their services with families already worrying about how to both eat and heat their homes.

“I’m proud to be providing half-a-million free meals this October half-term to lower income families and will continue to do all I can to support Londoners as we build a fairer London all, but we urgently need the Government to do more.

“We need ministers to use their powers to ensure children aren’t going hungry and help those in need to get through the winter.”

The half-a-million meals referred to by the mayor have been paid for by his £3.5m free holiday meals programme.

A government spokesman told the Local Democracy Service that ministers were focused on driving down inflation to “help everyone’s money go further”.

“There are 1.7 million fewer people in absolute poverty than in 2010, including 400,000 fewer children, but we know some families are struggling, which is why we are providing support worth an average of £3,300 per household, including raising benefits by over 10% this year, and are increasing the National Living Wage again.

“To help people out of poverty through work, we are also investing £3.5billion to help thousands into jobs, including £2bn of targeted support for people with disabilities and health conditions.”

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