Swathes of ‘red wall’ Tory seats to be among hardest hit by cost of living crisis
Boris Johnson has been warned that the future of his Conservative government rests on how it tackles the looming “cost-of-living catastrophe”, as Guardian analysis shows that swathes of Tory-held seats in the “red wall” will be among those hardest hit.
The prime minister is under growing pressure to set out measures to help millions of families avoid crippling rises in food and energy bill in coming months, with some Tory MPs calling for the national insurance rise in April to be delayed or even scrapped.
Analysis of official data by the Guardian shows that nearly 2m households in Conservative seats are already in fuel poverty, according to the UK government’s definition, including more than 194,000 in key red wall seats won from Labour in 2019.
Restive Tory MPs are growing increasingly concerned at the lack of any significant new measures to help alleviate the pressures on families, with Downing Street appearing paralysed by the “partygate” row.
Jo Gideon, the Conservative MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central, which has some of the highest levels of fuel poverty in the country, said Johnson’s government would be judged at the next election on its handling of the cost of living crisis as some of her constituents “have to choose between heating and eating”.
She added: “Ultimately people vote for the party and leader they think will do the best job of balancing the economy, providing stability and providing the basis for them to live their lives to the best outcome.
“I don’t think anyone knows how short term the energy prices [rise] is and therefore our economic strategy has to reflect the fact that the economic position is shifting according to these global influences.”
Downing Street has said Johnson is committed to introducing the
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