Millions of Brits face falling living standards – study

The UK is on the cusp of the greatest cost-of-living crisis in modern times, with the number of those below the poverty line rising, according to a report by the New Economics Foundation (NEF).

In a study released on Monday, the think tank said that 30 million people in Britain will be unable to afford what the public considers to be a decent standard of living by the time the current Parliament ends in 2024.

Rising prices, below-inflation increases in earnings, and projected increases in unemployment will result in 43% of households lacking the resources to put enough food on the table or buy new clothes, the report said.

According to the NEF’s calculations, by 2024, almost 90% of single parents and 50% of workers with children will fall below the minimum income standard. On average, those falling below the threshold for a decent standard of living will be short by £10,000 ($12,422) a year, the research shows.

“A decade of cuts, freezes, caps, and haphazard migration between systems left the UK with one of the weakest safety nets, both among developed countries globally, as well as in the UK’s history,” NEF economist Sam Tims wrote. “Millions of families were already living in avoidable deprivation and hardship but … the day-to-day experience of low-income families is set to become even more desperate.”

Official figures show that 22% of Britons are currently living below the poverty line because they are getting by on less than 60% of the median household income.

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