But over the past three months, the 77yearold widow from Oxfordshire, southern England, has lost nearly 25 pounds, as a result of eating just one cooked meal a day, with just a piece of fruit or a sandwich for dinner. .
DeBurgo, who relies on her state pension and additional pension credit, says her grocery bills have already almost doubled in the space of a month, with the rising cost of fuel still more worrying for your winter energy bills.
“I don’t want to end up, like, skeletal … eventually it’s going to have to stop. But if I’ll be able to afford to eat by then, I don’t know,” he told CNN by phone. interview.
The average British household will see its annual energy bill rise to £3,549 (about $4,180) from October, an increase of £1,578 ($1,765), an 80% increase, after the country’s energy regulator raise the price cap last week. The maximum price sets the maximum amount that energy suppliers can charge for each unit of energy and gas.
Meanwhile, Downing Street has said it will be up to the next Prime Minister to introduce any major new spending plans to support those facing hardship. Two candidates, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, are currently vying to become the next leader of the Conservative Party, and thus Prime Minister, with the results due on 5 September. Only grassroots members of the Conservative Party, who make up less than 0.3% of the electorate, can vote. in the competition Demographics suggest they are more likely to be white, male and middleclass than the general British population.
And while research shows older people are more likely to vote Conservative, neither candidate has outlined a clear plan for how to deal with a costofliving crisis that many in that age group are already feeling with force
Around 2 million pensioners were already living in poverty before the crisis, according to data from the Center for Aging Better, a charity focused on improving the lives of older people, whose 2022 annual report found that there were over 200,000 more poor pensioners. 2021 than the previous year.
Around 44% of people who have reached the UK’s current state pension age of 66 say it is their main source of income, according to figures from the Money and Pensions Service, which is sponsored by the Department of Work and Pensions. Most pensioners get the basic state pension at £141.85 a week (around $170), or around £7,400 ($8,770) a year, with a newer pension introduced in 2016 equivalent to around £9,600 ($11,376) a year. The state pension rose by 3.1% in April, a figure well below the then inflation rate of 9%. The next increase in the state pension will be next April.
“So these people were already struggling, and now we’re in a situation where they’re going to have it even worse and many more will have fallen into poverty because of what’s going on,” said Morgan Vine, head of policy and advocacy at The Age independent charity
People who responded to a survey conducted by Independent Age in June and July painted a grim picture of their daily lives. “I’ve turned off the heating, I don’t mop as often. I don’t vacuum as often, I only wash if I really have to, I can’t cook with my grandkids anymore, which breaks my heart,” she said. one, whose name was not given.
“Holidays are a thing of the past, social life is a thing of the past, if the costs keep going up I have no answers, I wouldn’t mind working but I’m 88 years old nobody wants me,” said another respondent, also unnamed.
This poverty is worsening health conditions, and life expectancy is also declining, according to the Center for Aging Better report, which notes that the number of years older people spend in good health is also declining.
The NHS Confederation, a body representing leaders of the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), said this month that energy poverty, in particular, is creating a “vicious cycle of healthcare need”, explaining that doctors can treat a patient’s illness, but that if the illness…–for example, a chest infection–is caused by a cold, damp dwelling, the cycle of infection will continue when the patient returns to house
It’s a concern that’s on DeBurgo’s mind. She is not sure how she will allow herself to stay warm this winter to manage symptoms related to her fibromyalgia and arthritis.
“I think the government thinks we should starve or freeze,” said DeBurgo, who noted that he has never voted conservative and does not identify with any political party.
Vine echoes those concerns. “Obviously, we’re incredibly concerned as the colder months come because we think it’s going to lead to more seniors dying,” he said.
In a statement last week, NHS leaders warned of a looming “humanitarian crisis” if the government does not tackle energy costs, saying fuel poverty “will inevitably lead to significant additional demand on those they are already very fragile services” and could increase. the number of annual deaths associated with cold houses.
UK hospitals are already close to caving in under pressure, with the elderly particularly vulnerable to service gaps that include record hospital waiting lists and staff shortages.
In August, the country saw two examples of these shortcomings. A 90yearold woman waited 40 hours for an ambulance after falling at home in Cornwall, southwest England. Her son, Stephen Syms, posted on Facebook that she collapsed on a Sunday evening and that the ambulance arrived on Tuesday afternoon, and that his mother waited another 20 hours to be seen by a doctor at the hospital . “The system is totally broken,” he told BBC Cornwall. CNN has contacted the Cornwall NHS Trust for comment.
And in another incident in Cornwall, an 87yearold man waited in a makeshift shelter for 15 hours for an ambulance after breaking seven ribs and fracturing his pelvis, his daughter told the BBC.
Meanwhile, the Tory leadership contest has been largely devoid of robust debate about the full scale of the crisis facing the health service. However, Truss pledged last week that he would divert £13 billion (about $15.4 billion) in funding to cover an NHS backlog of almost 7 million people in adult social care if elected . Sunak has pledged to tackle NHS waiting lists and said last month he would introduce fines for patients who missed doctor’s appointments, a proposal rejected by health leaders as unfair and costly to administer
Truss’ proposal to add more funding to social care has been welcomed by many; however, experts warn that it is a false dichotomy, as this investment is also badly needed in the NHS.
And while the energy crisis has drawn more attention from Conservative candidates, as well as ruling out a price freeze on energy costs, Truss and Sunak’s plans remain unclear.
Truss has said tax cuts should be the main response to rising bills and hinted last week that if elected he would quickly help pensioners with an emergency package for the cost of life, without providing details. Sunak has said he would find up to 10 billion pounds ($11.8 million) to help people facing rising energy bills.
Meanwhile, the government has announced that eligible households in England, Scotland and Wales will receive £400 (about $473) spread over six payments to help with rising fuel bills from October
But many activists say that’s not enough.
Dennis Reed, director of the seniors group Silver Voices, told CNN that some of his organization’s Conservative Party members have left the party, pointing to a series of broken promises.
In April, the Conservative government broke an election commitment by suspending the socalled “triple lock” formula for a year, a measure to ensure that basic state pensions rise by 2.5%, the rate of ‘inflation or average income growth. , whichever is greater.
“People are furious about this,” Reed said, adding that after working for 50 or 60 years and paying taxes, people expect to be able to live out their twilight years with dignity. “But that’s not what’s happening now.”
The government has promised to restore the triplelock guarantee next April, but many pensioners say the damage is already done.
“We may have shortterm memory problems, but our longterm memories are strong, and I think this will bring the Conservatives back, as long as it is,” Reed said.