Today’s report by the Money Advice Service finds that half of UK adults struggle to keep up with their bills and credit commitments -; a familiar picture for families in Cambridge says Cambridge Labour Parliamentary candidate Daniel Zeichner. For Cambridge families, the bills just keep rising.

 In 2010 it cost £3.40 for a day-rider bus ticket in Cambridge. Now it’s £3.90 -; a 15% increase. In 2010 a rail ticket to London cost £19. Now it’s £22 -; a 16% increase. In 2010 a litre of petrol cost £1.16, now it’s £1.36, a 15% rise. 

In the same time, most domestic fuel bills are up by at least 15%. And so it goes on.

Mr Zeichner says that while bills are rising, incomes are flat:

“Most people will be lucky to have seen their income rise by more than five or six per cent over the last three years, some haven’t had any rise at all. That means that there is less money to spend, which is why local shop-keepers, taxi-drivers and restaurants will tell you that business is very tough at the moment. The Coalition claims that things are improving -; as today’s survey shows, many families are still watching every penny as they wait for payday.”