London Assembly Member Len Duvall AM has called for “more to be done to help Londoners on low and middle incomes” after a new report found that people in the capital are almost £3,000 a year worse off in real terms than they were in 2010. The report, The High Cost of Low Wages, comes after the Mayor of London’s annual survey showed that that over 90% of Londoners think the cost of living has increased in the last year.
According to the report, wages in London have grown by just 3.5% since 2010, but the capital’s living costs have soared with the average cost of food, housing, travel, and fuel rising as much as 9.8 times faster than wages.
The cost of living rises mean that in real terms average weekly pay has dropped from £700 a week in 2010, to just £646 in 2014. This means Londoners are £2,802 a year worse off on average than they were five years ago.
London Assembly Member Len Duvall AM, said:
"Over the past five years the rocketing cost of living in the capital has left the average Londoner almost £3,000 a year worse off in real terms. With housing, travel and living costs rising far faster than wages it’s clear there is more to be done to help Londoners on low and middle incomes who are not feeling the economic recovery.
“There is an urgent need for the Government to tackle rising living costs and bring about some much-needed respite for the many Londoners struggling to make ends meet.”