7.4M Households Struggle To Buy Essentials As JRF Flags Cost-Of-Living Pressure

Almost two-thirds of low-income families in the UK could not afford an essential item in the past six months, according to anti-poverty charity the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, BBC reported. The JRF said the share hit a record 62%, the equivalent of 7.4 million households, up from 7.1 million a year ago. Almost half the households surveyed had skipped a meal or cut portion sizes to save money. The findings come as newly appointed Prime Minister Andy Burnham promised to set out plans to "give people some breathing space" and help with the cost of living, including cutting VAT on electricity bills from October. The charity said food inflation averaged 4.1% between May 2025 and May 2026, compared with 3.6% for overall inflation, and noted that 35% of adults in the UK worry about their finances every day in separate research by Christians Against Poverty.