The Great Debate: Can you afford the cost of living crisis?

Trevor Phillips is joined by studio guests and our viewers panel to discuss what impact the cost of living will have on people in the UK.

Our guests include Founder and CEO of Utilita Energy, Bill Bullen; comedian and anti-poverty campaigner, Lucy Beaumont; the entrepreneur and businessman, Piers Linney and former Conservative MP and Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Justine Greening.

[samanthahardy]

The only ones levelling up are the CEOs of big businesses who pay minimum wage to workers and get huge bonuses themselves whilst their staff suffer for it.

[Silver-stzq]

"The cost of living is effecting everyone" it doesn't effect the well off!

[joannebailey]

It's heart breaking to hear the struggles people are going through but also reassuring to know my husband and I aren't the only ones having to make sacrifices to accommodate basic necessities. .

[am-tdgp]

Sick of hearing them debating this that and the next thing. Talk is CHEAP. The cost of living isn't. 😠😠😠

[lindamcdonald]

Raise the minimum wage. Remove the personal tax allowance freeze for low income families. For all charities, donate 10% of their stock to “poverty charities for clothing, toys, bedding, and household items etc. The amount of waste going to landfill is shocking. Globally, politicians of all nations need to grow up.

[terrence]

I have worked for 44 years paid taxes insurance. Now I have some serious health problems the government are making it so hard for me to get help . I feel like a crimmal asking or begging for help. They ask the most ridiculous questions then base it on points. Everyone's pain is different. I am so fed up sometimes that I would rather go to bed and not wake up.

[katetorode]

Tori answer is give billions of taxpayers money to energy companies who are not struggling

[barcacampnou]

In France they had a windfall tax on their main Energy company EDF which meant that instead of there heating bills going up over 50% it only went up 4%. It seems to me that the richest in society will have to be windfall taxed as well, they can afford it the poor can't

[lindamcdonald]

Smart meters, what a waste of money!!!! Poor families know exactly what their energy usage is. There, just saved millions.

[nikolarosie]

The bigger picture is less money in the public’s pockets to spend on “luxuries”. This means people will likely cut down in any leisure/social outgoings. Less money to go out to the pub or for a meal this in turn will result in hospitality getting another massive blow. Less money to buy the non essentials that are often looked at as pure frivolous and fun. Again lots of small quirky artisan hipster shops will be forced to cease trading. This isn’t just the immediate impact on our cost of living and lifestyles that’s the biggest concern of mine. This without doubt means that the future in regards to employment and health will be very bleak. Lots of people will become jobless and perhaps others may lose their homes.

[ianbriggs]

We are the 5th richest country in world and we carnt look after us own people ! Its amazing they have money to send weapons to Ukraine,
As they say charity starts at home not abroad .

[almostfamous]

I work for a local council and we got a 1.75% pay rise this year when inflation is almost 8% now as of writing this message. It’s a joke every year inflation is going up considerably more than wages something’s gotta give eventually

[zippocrow]

Food prices in the US are up crazy, the msm is saying it's only 7 percent

[willowclay]

We need to stop the flow of people when we can't even house Veterans! Los Angeles has a 150, 000 homeless!

[internationaltutor]

This cost of living crisis doesn't have to exist at all. A greater investment in green energy sources would make a tremendous impact on household energy costs to say the least. Our dependency upon fossil fuels is very beneficial to certain corporations, and the plight of the average person doesn't count quite as much.

[monokai]

this show's format is the most Black Mirror thing I've seen in a while!

[lone]

How many times have we seen this economic mess before, right people!

[alistairmacgregor]

also, stop all military spending, all Artificial inteligence spending and funding, stop all quantum computing grants, legalise cannabis, make bio gas from manure and NPK. increase corporation tax on large corporations, stop brexit, invest in silver, reduce import tax by 50%, don't increase National insurance, reduce energy costs by producing energy in different ways,

[willowclay]

I agree that young Millennials have more costs. We have elderly seniors that are homeless now! It's harder for seniors to work longer hours!

[kellykreqeli]

She's right that lady it is like working for them what worries me this government is not taking it seriously suicide? How many people could end up committing suicide due to struggling? We have seen it when they cut people's disability living allowance now we will see it across the board it's scary the people making these decisions have money and are not worrying like most people are