Cost of Living

Cost of Living

Britain has been hit by a cost of living crisis which has seen the costs of everyday essentials such as energy, transport and food rise faster than household incomes.

Cost of Living Crisis - tell LBC your story

* Required fields

Latest Cost of Living News

More than one in five (22%) people avoid looking at their bank balance because of feeling anxious about their finances, a survey has found.

More than 1 in 5 people avoid checking bank balance because of anxiety about finances, survey finds

Two smiling guests talking with a concierge while checking in together at the reception counter of a hotel

UK services sector shrinks for first time in 18 months amid tariff worries

Consumer confidence in economy ‘at lowest level since cost-of-living shock’

Consumer confidence in economy ‘at lowest level since cost-of-living shock’

Homeowners are choosing to improve their property rather than move, research has found

More than half of homeowners ‘improving rather than moving as costs bite’

A man poses holding a smartphone showing the App for ride-sharing service Uber

Uber to allow customers to pay in cash across most of UK

The supermarket price ranking has been released - where does your favourite shop rank?

Britain’s cheapest supermarket revealed, as weekly prices continue to soar

This will mean an average £420 extra a year for 1.2 million of the poorest households.

Universal Credit change brings £420 boost to over a million households

Outside NatWest bank with 2 ATM machines facing the pavement, Clifton Down, Bristol, UK

NatWest profit leaps by a third as customers ‘resilient’ against uncertainty despite cost of living concerns

Animals Are Treated At The Battersea Veterinary Hospital

Vets could face temporary price cap as regulator probes concerns pet owners being ripped off

One of Britain's most iconic breweries is closing.

One of UK's most-iconic breweries to close its doors after more than 40 years as owner issues heartbreaking statement

A co-ordinated 24-hour global strike is being held demanding fair pay, improved working conditions, and greater protections for gig economy drivers.

Private hire drivers go on global strike as thousands walk out for better pay and conditions

The takeaway has been accused of "ripping people off" after it hiked the price of haddock to £8.20.

Fish and chip shop accused of 'ripping people off' as price of haddock hiked to £8.20

Diners in a Young's pub

Pub group Young’s toasts bumper sales year despite rising costs and poor weather

Chimneys billow smoke and vapour coming from gas heaters in homes on February 14, 2025.

Government to offer grants for home heating system upgrades in new net zero proposals

A woman's hands holding a piggy bank

Two-thirds ‘have changed spending habits to shore up savings’

Food inflation has hit its highest point in nearly a year

Food inflation hits highest point in 11 months

Solar panels on the roof of a new house

All new homes must have solar panels installed, councils tell government

A three-month prescription pre-payment certificate (PPC) will have the same cost as now, at £32.05, while a 12-month one will remain at £114.50

NHS prescription charges to be frozen for the first time in three years

A view of homes

Over-60s owner-occupiers ‘sitting on £2.89 trillion of net housing wealth’

A group of UK primary schoolchildren leave the school hall after assembly - only legs and feet showing.

Parents to save £50 a year due to new bill aimed at making school uniforms cheaper

Tired

A third of Britons say financial anxiety keeps them awake at night

A new tourist tax will hit a UK city.

Major UK city will soon charge 'tourist tax' for overnight stays

Lisa Nandy

TV licence fee 'unenforceable' and 'unfair to women', Culture Secretary warns

Household energy bills are set to fall in July after Donald Trump's trade tariffs caused a slump in global gas prices, according to a leading forecaster.

UK energy bills to fall by 9% in July after three years of price rises - as Trump tariffs trigger gas price slump

Aerial view of campus of University of Dundee in Dundee, Tayside, Scotland, UK

Hundreds of staff ‘overwhelmingly’ back strike action as university plans 700 job cuts

Private car parks are set to issue tickets at a record rate

Record number of private parking tickets set to be issued this year - with over 40,000 drivers stung every day

The head of Edinburgh University has said "around 350" staff have taken voluntary redundancy as the sector wrestles with a financial crisis, with more jobs being potentially cut.

350 staff at top university take voluntary redundancy and more jobs on the line

Ed Miliband told LBC he isn't going to 'take a decision' that will raise prices for some parts of Britain

Ed Miliband 'not going to take a decision' on zonal energy prices that will raise bills in some parts of Britain

Four-finger KitKat biscuits, lying on top of several unopened packs

KitKat maker Nestle reveals steep price hikes for coffee and chocolate

Andrew Bailey said the UK must take impact of trade wars on global economic growth 'very seriously'.

UK can't afford to ignore trade war risks, says Bank governor - as Trump's tariffs cause global disruption and uncertainty
Piggy bank with money

Retirement savers could boost savings by £1,000 under new plan for small pension pots

Water coming out of a tap

Devon residents without water to receive £200 compensation, says MP

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Horror as man stabbed to death in Derby city centre bank in front of shocked customers

Horror as man in his 30s stabbed to death in Derby city centre bank in front of shocked customers

Sir David Attenborough

'Save the sea to save the world': David Attenborough gives rallying cry against overfishing as he turns 99

Armed Metropolitan Police on duty in Westminster on 5th May 2025

Brits saved from 'dozens' of late-stage terror plots in recent years

File photo dated 11/10/23 of the removal of the felled Sycamore Gap tree, on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland.

'It's just a tree': Sycamore Gap defendant claims he couldn't understand huge outcry after it was felled

John Swinney announcing his new programme for government.

Peak rail fares scrapped and 100,000 more GP appointments as SNP bids for fifth election win

Former health secretary Sir Jeremy Hunt has urged the Government to reconsider cuts to allocated funding for maternity services, after warnings they will be a "wrecking ball" to women's safety.

Planned cuts to maternity services will be ‘wrecking ball’ to women’s safety, former Health Secretary says

Martin Clunes with wife Philippa Braithwaite

Doc Martin star Martin Clunes insists neighbours are not 'travellers' amid bitter planning row

Putin has given a rare glimpse inside his Kremlin home

Putin gives rare glimpse inside his home - as he admits he thinks 'constantly' about who will replace him as president

Cardinal Ruben Salazar Gomez is surrounded by journalists as he arrives at the Vatican for the College of Cardinals' meeting, on May 5, 2025 in Rome, Italy.

Top of the Popes! Cardinals mobbed as they prepare to enter the Sistine Chapel for secret conclave to elect new Pope

Friedrich Merz was voted in at the second attempt

Friedrich Merz elected German chancellor on second attempt after losing initial vote

Local planners have recently granted the Florence + The Machine frontwoman permission to unify four 12th-century properties in Somerset into one plush estate

Florence Welch’s £1.9m home renovation could unearth medieval skeletons

Hannah James was the partner of Shane Richardson

Girlfriend of Superbikes rider who died in horror crash suffers double tragedy as previous boyfriend also killed in motorcycle race nine years ago
Elizabeth Odunsi was murdered just days before graduating as a nurse

Heartbreaking final TikTok of British student nurse stabbed to death just days before graduating from US university

Ms Bahsoon, with 800,000 followers, became a viral hit with TikTok users after sharing dance videos on London’s iconic train lines.

TikTok's 'Tube Girl' removes videos of her new single after breaching TfL rules

Eddie Hall's expletive-laden rant was caught on camera

Moment Eddie 'The Beast' Hall chases drivers who 'scared his children' by sitting outside his home for 25 minutes

Nicola Sturgeon said trans people's lives could become "unliveable" as a result of the Supreme Court ruling when she appeared in Holyrood.

Nicola Sturgeon says trans lives could be 'almost unliveable' after Supreme Court ruling

Latest News

See more Latest News

Manchester United's Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes. The Premier League has backed Tottenham over fixtures

Manchester United lose their Europa League final advantage over Tottenham after Premier League ruling
Michael Redgrave acted as a drug dealer and courier delivering cocaine in the City of London and surrounding areas

Black cab driver admits using his taxi to deal cocaine across London

Jonny Greenwood performs on stage

Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood announces cancellation of UK shows due to 'credible threats'

Undated file photos of Coleen Rooney (left) Rebekah Vardy who are due to find out who has won their High Court libel battle in the 'Wagatha Christie' case.

Rebekah Vardy agrees to finally pay Coleen Rooney eye-watering sum six years after Wagatha Christie saga
Co-op shelves go bare as shoppers left scrambling for goods following 'M&S-style cyber attack'

Co-op shelves lie empty as shoppers scramble for essentials following 'malicious cyber attack'
Recent reports suggest Cybercriminals from the Scattered Spider network were able to reset an employee's password to breach the Co-op's network and conduct the “social engineering” attack

Co-op and M&S cyberattackers tricked IT workers into resetting passwords

Real Madrid are understood to to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold early

Real Madrid ready to pay Liverpool for Trent Alexander-Arnold early so he can play in next month's Club World Cup
Influencers pose for photo as yacht sinks off Miami coast

'It's giving Titanic': Fury as influencers pose for selfies as $4.5 million yacht sinks off Miami
Aimee Lou Wood attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style"

Aimee Lou Wood says she criticised controversial SNL sketch to not ‘spiral inwardly’

Friedrich Merz reacts after he was not elected new Chancellor in the first voting process at the parliament Bundestag in Berlin

Shock loss for Friedrich Merz as he fails to be elected German chancellor in historic first

The News Explained

See more The News Explained

Crowded Piccadilly Line train at station on London Underground

Piccadilly Line to part-close this weekend for two weeks: Here's what you need to know

Rishi Sunak outside 10 Downing Street

Rishi Sunak facts: Height, wife, children and policies revealed

Big Freeze

Arctic blast sets off government's Cold Weather Payment - but are you eligible for the £25 off energy bills?

Royals

See more Royals

Meghan shared the picture of Archie as the young prince turned six

Meghan wishes happy birthday to ‘our sweet boy’ Archie as prince turns six

King Charles III's Coronation State Portrait in the Central Hall at the National Gallery, London.

King and Queen unveil official portraits on second anniversary of coronation

The Duchess of Sussex has described how she turned to an Ayurvedic doctor

Meghan reveals she turned to ancient Indian medicine doctor during pregnancy

Highlights & Opinion

See more Highlights & Opinion

c

The last minute rescue of British Steel is not a win. It demonstrates how uncompetitive our nation has become
Cedric Neal, Desmonda Cathabel, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, Femi Akinfolarin and Laura Delany, in the Hadestown.

Hadestown: A wonderful West End spectacle with memorable music

President Zelenskyy

Defiant and unrepentant: My meeting with Zelenskyy, writes Andrew Marr

The UK is stuck in a morass of mediocrity triggered by indecisive action over two decades.

The UK is stuck in a morass of mediocrity triggered by indecisive action over two decades

Kanye West recently went on an "antisemitic rampage" on X.

There can be no debate about Kanye West - he clearly hates Jewish people and should be challenged on it
My apprenticeship took me from school leaver to radio producer at 19 - here’s why it’s a path worth exploring

My apprenticeship took me from school leaver to radio producer at 19 - here’s why it’s a path worth exploring
David Lammy and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

China is targeting critics on British soil - so why is David Lammy rolling out the red carpet?
Now that Trump has released the classified files on JFK when is the UK going to do the same with Diana and David Kelly?

Now that Trump has released the classified files on JFK when is the UK going to do the same with Diana and David Kelly?
Kim Leadbeater’s Assisted Dying Commission makes a safe Bill even safer.

Kim Leadbeater’s Assisted Dying Commission makes a safe Bill even safer

Why should alcohol be allowed at the World Cup in Saudi Arabia?

Why should alcohol be allowed at the World Cup in Saudi Arabia?

More Topics

See more More Topics

War in Ukraine

Cost of Living Crisis

UK Strikes

Immigration

Crime & Police

London

NHS

Royal News