Friday, May 30, 2025
16.1 C
London

Not even Christmas can spare single mothers from the “cost-of-living crisis”

- Advertisement -

Christmas is supposed to be a season of joy, relaxation, and merriment.

I mean, surely the joyous spirit of the holidays will instill optimism in every home, even those with incomplete family members?

Well, the latest figures implied otherwise.

Just before the clock strikes twelve and everybody greets everybody a ‘Happy Christmas’, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) disclosed that 1.4 million households headed by single mothers have reduced their consumption of food and other necessities, while 1.1 million are being forced to use less gas or electricity in their homes this season.

- Advertisement -

With savings 20 times lower than the UK average, the data indicates that ‘lone-parent households’ were among those most severely impacted by the cost of living crisis.

Furthermore, the institute discovered that 74% of households headed by a single parent are experiencing extreme difficulty covering their energy bills, with a fifth falling behind on their payments. Half of the single parents were also reported to be relying on credit.

Who’s to blame for the cost of living crisis?

In an interview with the Sunday Mirror, Ms. Anneliese Dodds, a member of the Labour Party, said that single mothers have had to make difficult choices over the festive period, deciding which is more important: gifts, food, or heating. Dodds claims that the economic chaos caused by the Conservatives is to blame for this awful Christmas predicament. 

The ONS reports that since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, women’s average income has dropped by more than £1,200 and that progress in closing the gender pay gap has been “slow.”’

- Advertisement -

Chief Executive Victoria Benson of Gingerbread also shared her thoughts on the subject, stating that the COVID pandemic, years of hardship, and the current crisis in the cost of living have put these single mothers beyond their means. She added that although they have become experts at budgeting, they are still not miracle workers, and many simply can’t afford any extras this Christmas.

Read More News

What this Londoner bought this Christmas may blow your mind

Cover Photo: Pexels

- Advertisement -

Hot this week

Kate Middleton expecting twins, according to reports

According to news on the Internet, the Duchess of...

Is BTS’s Taehyung colour blind?

The rumour mill online has been speculating that Korean...

Hurley wore ‘the dress’ after being snubbed by top fashion designers

Model Liz Hurley became famous after wearing "the dress"...

Hyun Bin taking legal action against rumours involving Son Ye Jin

While the hottest K-drama screening on-air is undoubtedly Crash...

HK protesters call for boycott of Ip Man 4: The Finale

Hong Kong -- The final instalment of the Ip...

Dynasty or Democracy? Nurul Izzah’s Comeback Sparks Uproar in PKR as Rafizi Cries Foul

Anwar Ibrahim is renowned for his out-of-the-box thinking, which...

ChatGPT at two — and OpenAI’s vision for the future

Two years after OpenAI launched ChatGPT, the groundbreaking AI...

Vertical Institute Unveils Generative AI Course to Meet Growing Demand for Digital Proficiency

The future of work is undeniably intertwined with artificial...

Jimmy Carter: The Nobel US president who lived to be 100

Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who became the 39th...

Manmohan Singh: The leader who transformed India

Manmohan Singh's story is one of remarkable transformation, both...

Why AI ‘hallucinates’: What’s missing in the models

The American writer Richard Powers' latest novel, Playground, delves...

Challenging job market diminishes appeal of postgraduate studies in China

China is seeing a significant decline in postgraduate entrance...

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_img