Londoners struggle amid ongoing cost-of-living crisis and 40-year inflation high
London’s high cost of living can now be felt all throughout the city, which has left its inhabitants drained and eager for a solution.
University students, like Shemari Singleton, a 19-year-old employee at The Ivy in Covent Garden, have been hit especially hard. “Housing as a student is brutal, like you’re struggling,” said Singleton.
Many students already struggled to balance university and work, so an added high cost of living has complicated things even further. “There was a student strike the other day,” said Singleton. “Because a student loan isn’t enough.”
In April of 2022, the average monthly rent in London was up 713 pounds, which is approximately 897 dollars, compared to the rest of the U.K. The average increased 14.2% from last year, with the April average being 1,804 pounds, or about 2,269 dollars, per month.
“I have been looking for a new flat and the prices have gone up tremendously,” said Vlad Bogdan, a law student studying at London South Bank University. Bogdan then shared that he had also noticed an increase in the price of electricity, gas, food, and public transportation.
Certain areas of the city, like the West End, are historically pricy to live in. Unlike the East End, which, up until recently, was known for being slightly less expensive to live in.
By the early 19th century, the West End was home to much of London’s wealthy and upper class. The lower and working class could mostly be found in the city’s East End. This was due to the fact that the East End was downwind of several factories, pushing any waste or pollution away from the rich and towards less fortunate neighborhoods.
The East End was also targeted by the Germans in World War II due to its trade and industrial importance. “No one wants to bomb rich people’s houses,” said Pepe Marinez, a London Blue Badge Guide with the British Guild of Tourist Guides, as he stood outside Whitechapel Gallery.
However, because of an increase in popularity and influx of tech startups, East End penthouses are now going for millions. The “Flat White” area contributes to approximately 15% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to Martinez. Other areas, like Brick Lane, have been faced with rising prices and an increasingly competitive market, which have begun to price out the neighborhood’s original inhabitants. Then, it likely isn’t long before the sought-after space is snatched up by one of the “hipster” businesses, hungry to be a part of the area, or someone with millions to spend. This has helped contribute to an inescapable high cost of living across London.
Many don’t believe the government is doing enough to advocate for those struggling with the climbing cost of living. Some, like Bogdan, see a need to increase taxes. “Higher taxation on gas, definitely,” said the 21-year-old Romanian as he sat waiting to meet up with his friends in Covent Garden. “There needs to be a windfall tax,” which would be imposed on oil and gas companies to help households combat steeper bills.
The windfall tax has been a popular, recent topic of discussion in British politics. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has delayed implementing the tax, while others, like Labour Party and Opposition Leader Keir Starmer, fervently encourage it amid a 40-year inflation high.
Bogdan also expressed the need for more taxation on businesses, since they’re “actually running profit, while everyone else is running deficit.”
Until proper aid is provided, some London residents must continue to try and scrape by, while others buy million-dollar townhomes.
