London. File photoMOSCOW, Apr 13Rising electricity bills and rising food prices are pushing more and more British households «to the edge of the abyss,» The Independent writes. The country was approached by a group of representatives from more than 550 food banks. «We are deeply concerned about the extent of the suffering we are already witnessing and our ability to prevent citizen starvation in the coming weeks and months,» Britain's Independent Food Aid Network said in a letter quoted by the newspaper to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The British rushed to stock up on food So, the representative of the organization Second Chance Medway Penny Keevil told The Independent that this is the «worst poverty» she has seen in 30 years. «People come to us in tears and say, 'Either I pay the bills or feed the kids,'» she said. Some food banks have had to cut back on the amount of food given out as demand outstrips supply, she said. “I have never seen such difficulties: we see families living in the same room to keep warm, because they cannot afford to turn on the heating,” he said. In turn, representatives of the Citizens Advice charity said that some parents resort to hand-washing clothes because they can't afford to turn on the washing machine, and others wrap themselves in blankets because they can't afford to use the heating. Western countries have imposed sanctions on Russia because of a special military operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine. The new restrictions affected mainly the banking sector and the high-tech sector. Calls to abandon Russian energy sources have become louder. However, the disruption of supply chains has led to economic problems in Europe and the US, primarily to higher food and fuel prices. In the UK, tariff increases have hit millions of households across the kingdom: now the country's energy costs will increase by an average of 700 pounds per year . All this led to a record inflation rate in 30 years: in February it reached 6.2 percent. According to a survey conducted by the National Statistical Office, residents of the United Kingdom have to seriously reduce spending. Over half of respondents said they save on non-essential items, 34 percent on gas or electricity, and 31 percent on food and essentials.
In the UK, gas and electricity bills were allowed to rise by 50 percent
