‘Who pays for childcare?’ Holly Willoughby looks irritated during a heated debate with This Morning’s Beverley Turner who advises parents to ‘get a job’ amid cost-of-living crisis
- The TV presenter, 41, told ITV viewers that parents had been ‘living in McDonald’s’ with their kids to save money on rising household bills
- Commentator Beverley, 48, advised parents to ‘get a job’ to ease the cost-of-living crisis
- Holly explained ‘the reality of the situation’ is that families have been seen brushing their teeth in fast food restaurants to cut down on monthly costs
- Analysts warn worse is to come thanks to the hiking of the energy price cap, which has added £700 to the typical annual bill
Holly Willoughby looked irritated during a heated debated with This Morning Guest Beverley Turner on Thursday.
The TV presenter, 41, told viewers that parents had been ‘living in McDonald’s’ with their kids to save money on rising household bills, which Holly said was one of the ‘saddest’ things she’d ever heard.
While commentator Beverley, 48, advised parents to ‘get a job’ to ease the cost-of-living crisis.
Tense: Holly Willoughby looked irritated during a heated debated with This Morning Guest Beverley Turner on Thursday
Holly explained ‘the reality of the situation’ is that families have been seen brushing their teeth in fast food restaurants and using their wifi to cut down on monthly costs.
Reacting to this news, Beverley said: ‘I don’t think there are many people doing that, we need to keep perspective in a way.’
While Holly argued that even if it was only one person doing this, it was still ‘one too many.’
Beverley went on to say: ‘I’m going to sound incredibly callous now, but there is a huge employment shortage. There is more availability for jobs now than there ever has been.’
Opinion: Commentator Beverley, 48, advised parents to ‘get a job’ to ease the cost-of-living crisis
Holly cut Beverley off to ask: ‘Then who pays for the childcare?’
Beverley replied: ‘I totally agree, that’s really difficult, but if your children are at school all day, I’m sorry but… unless you have a severe mental health problem or genuine illness, in which case I would urge people to seek help.’
Holly’s co-host Phillip Schofield jumped in on the tense debate and added: ‘But what else do you do? You’re just saying ‘get a job’.’
Beverley said: ‘I don’t know… but there is support. We do have a decent system in this country to support people who need benefits, advice. Childcare is a big issue, if you have children that’s very difficult’
Hitting back, Holly insisted: ‘Benefits aren’t in line with inflation so it’s just impossible.’
Hard times: The TV presenter, 41, told viewers that parents had been ‘living in McDonald’s’ with their kids to save money on rising household bills, which Holly said was one of the ‘saddest’ things she’d ever heard
Around 1.5 million UK households will struggle to pay food and energy bills amid a deepening cost-of-living crisis that will plunge the UK into a recession, according to a leading think tank.
How inflation threatens families and the public finances
Inflation has long been seen as one of the biggest threats to economies.
In extreme examples, it has spiralled out of control and sparked panic.
The German Weimar Republic effectively collapsed after the value of the mark went from around 90 marks to the US dollar in 1921 to 7,400 marks to the dollar in 1921.
In Zimbabwe between 2008 and 2009 the monthly inflation rate was estimated to have reached a mind-boggling 79.6billion per cent.
Although inflation has faded in the minds of Britons who have become used to ultra-low interest rates and stable prices, it caused chaos here in the 1970s.
Deregulation of the mortgage market, the emergence of credit cards and an overheating economy drove the rate to an eye-watering 25 per cent in 1975.
People would rush to buy goods with their wages after pay-day, as the costs were rising so quickly.
Strikes erupted as there was pressure for pay packets to keep pace with prices.
Unemployment rose as the economy tipped into recession, and the government had to pump up interest rates in a bid to bolster the pound and control the surge.
That meant mortgage interest payments spiked into double digits and as a result servicing the national debt became a serious problem.
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) blames soaring inflation and the war in Ukraine which will see many families hit with food and energy bills greater than their income.
It says the Spring Statement did not increase benefits in line with inflation that has seen supermarkets increase their prices, rail tickets, petrol and diesel soar and tax go up.
The think tank also claims that incomes will fall and believes more than 250,000 households will ‘slide into destitution’ next year, with the total number in extreme poverty to hit around one million unless urgent action is taken.
While approximately another 500,000 households face choices between eating and heating.
Struggling households are buying less food and fuel as the cost-of-living crisis bite with retail sales volumes dropped by 1.4 per cent in March as the value of purchases fell by 0.2 per cent, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
And analysts warn worse is to come thanks to the hiking of the energy price cap, which has added £700 to the typical annual bill.
The ONS said a 7.9 per cent decline in online purchases – the biggest decrease in 20 years – fuelled the drop in retail sales.
Food store sales volumes fell by 1.1 per cent in March and have dropped for five months in a row. Automotive fuel sales decreased by 3.8 per cent in March, the AA said.
Petrol and diesel prices are 28 and 36 per cent higher respectively than a year ago, piling further pressure on family budgets, while inflation is at 7 per cent.
The decline in food spending suggests people may be rationing purchases or putting children first in order to make ends meet.
It follows comments from safeguarding minister Rachel Maclean that people should ‘take on more hours’ at work or move to a ‘better paid job’ to protect themselves from cost of living surge.
The politician was slammed for saying people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis should work longer or simply get a better-paid job.
Rachel said that long term the Government wanted people to be able to find better-paid work, or take on extra hours to make more money.
The comments come against a backdrop of soaring inflation, rising energy bills and high prices at the petrol pumps.
In a car crash media round this morning the Home Office minister, who earns a combined salary of £106,000, got into a muddle over changes to stop-and-search powers unveiled by the department.
Whoops! It follows comments from safeguarding minister Rachel Maclean that people should ‘take on more hours’ at work or move to a ‘better paid job’ to protect themselves from a surge
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