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Spend a day with me in the eviction court, Mr Sunak, and you’ll understand the ‘cost of living’ | Polly Toynbee
If the chancellor raised benefits in line with inflation, it would help those tenants for whom rising bills are the last straw
Expect something on Wednesday, some gesture in the spring statement to ease the gathering cost-of-living storm. But for whom? That’s the chancellor’s political and moral choice. But, before he chooses, I would like to bring him with me to sit in court to watch a day of housing evictions, warrants and repossessions.
Since the ban on evictions in England during Covid ended last summer, a wave of cases has surged through the justice system. Here Rishi Sunak would see stricken households losing their daily battle to stay afloat in a sea of bills and misfortunes. Many were knocked into debt by lost earnings in the pandemic, struggling against mounting bills. Many were “just about managing” with the £20 a week “uplift” to universal credit, before that was cruelly withdrawn.
Some names have been changed in this piece
Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist
Join Hugh Muir, Richard Partington and Anneliese Dodds MP in a livestreamed event on the cost-of-living crisis and the effect on the poorest households.on Thursday 14 April 2022, 8pm BST | 9pm CEST | 12pm PDT | 3pm EDT Book tickets here
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