Fighting for a future we can all afford
Britain has the potential to be a flourishing economy where everyone has the resources they need to thrive.
Cost of Living Action is a campaign calling for the government to put an end to the cost of living crisis and make sure it never happens again.
We are a coalition made up of more than 30 civil society organisations, trade unions and grassroots groups, united around a series of practical demands to reduce costs, increase incomes and introduce fairer and better taxes on wealth.
The cost of living crisis has deep roots. We have seen more than a decade of cuts to public services and social security, with stagnant pay for the majority of workers. Failed policies have seen the cost of essentials like housing and energy soar, and with a growing concentration of wealth and power at the top of society.
We have been campaigning on these issues since 2022 but we are relaunching with a new name and a series of demands for 2026. (You may have come across us under our previous identity, ‘Stop the Squeeze). The cost of living crisis hasn't gone away but it has changed, which is why we're relaunching with a new name and a new set of asks. As things stand, living standards are on track to continue falling, from an already low base, as the global and domestic economy suffers shock after shock in the 2020s.
We cannot accept this as the new normal. That is why we will be doing everything we can to highlight the reality that people are facing and push the government to take action.
The problem:
Across the country, household budgets are being squeezed from all sides. As we see big price hikes in housing, energy and other essentials while wages and social security fail to keep up, the problem becomes more and more entrenched. Outgoings are going up, but what’s coming in isn’t rising to match. For so many, work no longer even covers the essentials, resulting in more and more people turning to food banks to survive. Our social security system is left to make up the difference between inadequate wages and increasing costs, letting employers off the hook. Even those on salaries that would have been regarded as comfortable just a few years ago are now struggling to make ends meet. This has been going on for years with no end in sight.
Not everyone feels this reality. Some large corporations are seeing their profits soar to levels of which most of us could only dream. Meanwhile, the majority have seen our living standards stagnate and fall behind other wealthy nations, as more children grow up in poverty: 4.5 million according to the latest statistics. Individuals and corporations are making vast amounts of money from our higher and higher bills as we get poorer and poorer. The richest 50 families in the UK held more wealth than half of the UK population, comprising 34.1 million people (Equality Trust); the gap between the haves and have nots is widening.
Since the 2008 financial crash, government policy has has seen the wealth of those at the top surge and created a record number of UK billionaires. This unbalanced economy is bad for all of us, because the only way this country succeeds is if everyone shares in the success. The hardship this deep inequality is causing now will only continue to get worse.
Poverty is a political decision. We face this scale of crisis because of decisions made by those in the driving seat of our economy. Successive governments have failed to prioritise the wellbeing, security and prosperity of ordinary people and build a balanced economy that benefits everyone.
At every stage in this crisis the government has been playing catch-up, rather than getting out in front of the problems we face. For too long, cost of living concerns have been treated as transient, rather than the deep-seated and long-term crisis that it is.
It is within the government’s power to make changes that would deliver secure incomes for all, as well as to drive down the spiralling costs that suffocate household budgets and stifle opportunities for so many across the country.
The solution:
As the only coalition focused on the cost of living crisis facing the country, we have a unique opportunity to amplify the impact this has on the public, showcase the outrage they feel about it and present a compelling, credible vision for a fairer future. It is our responsibility as a coalition to take this chance to enact positive change.
Those at the sharp end understand that this problem won’t just go away with short term policymaking but requires solutions that tackle cost of living as a whole, with tangible impacts for those not sat at the top table.
This can and should be paid for by fairer taxes on profits and wealth, a solution that would lead to a better, more prosperous and more just economy for all. These changes are fair, realistic, and popular with the people.
Politicians must make better choices now. It is their responsibility to do so.
