One in 10 Brits would struggle to afford a £5 increase to their monthly bills amid mounting cost of living pressures, a new poll has found.
A YouGov survey shared exclusively with the Mirror found 10% of people said they could not afford a £5 hike to their monthly costs, such as housing, food and bills, amounting to an extra £60 a year.
Some 17% said they would struggle to afford a £10 increase in monthly spend, or £120 extra a year, the online poll of more than 3,000 Brits found.
Around a third (33%) couldn’t bear an a £25-per-month increase in their expenses, equivalent to an additional £300 a year.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak will unveil his Budget on Wednesday, where he is expected to increase the national living wage from £8.91 to £9.50 and bring an end to the public sector pay freeze.
But critics have warned that the minimum wage hike is unlikely to compensate for the impact of the £20-a-week Universal Credit cut on hard-pressed families.
Torsten Bell, of the Resolution Foundation thinktank, told the BBC: "Will it make up for losing well over a £1000 from Universal Credit? No.
"Is it still a very welcome policy move by the Government? Yes."
Speaking in the Commons, Shadow Treasury Minister Bridget Phillipson warned: “We face an urgent cost-of-living crisis. Prices are up in our shops, at our petrol pumps and on our heating bills.
"Families and businesses are waiting and hoping for the Chancellor to take the action that they need and which our country desperately needs, but the Chancellor hasn’t even delivered his Budget yet and it’s already falling apart. "
The median household income in 2020 was £29,900, according to the Office for National Statistics.
YouGov found that 57% of Britons from households with incomes between £20,000 and £29,999 said they could not afford to spend an extra £50 a month on their cost of living.
Some 76% of the poorest households, who are earning less than £10,000 a year, said they could not afford an additional £50 a month.
It comes after Government infrastructure adviser Sir John Armitt warned that some households could see a £400-a-year rise to their cost of living to offset the costs of tackling climate change – around £33 a month.
Analysis for the National Infrastructure Commission suggested that the poorest tenth of households will pay an extra £80 a year by 2050, rising to £400 for the richest tenth, according to the Times.
And Citizens Advice found the number of people seeking debt help who are unable to cover their essential costs has risen to 40% this year, compared to 36% in 2019.
Demand for advice on accessing charitable support and food banks is now 36% higher than this time last year, it said.
Total sample size was 3071 British adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 28th – 30th September 2021. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
