Hundreds of charities push for hardship to be top of Prime Minister’s priorities from day one

Over 200 organisations committed to ending poverty have called on the people most likely to be the next Prime Minister to put tackling hardship at the top of their agenda from day one. Frustrated by the "stark lack of focus" from Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer during the campaign, the diverse network of organisations placed their message that hardship must be at the top of the Prime Minister's to-do list in national newspapers with one week to go until the election result.

The leaders of UK's political parties have faced questions from the public on the campaign trail about levels of hardship in the UK, as JRF reveals the relentless reality of years-long hardship. Our latest research found:

• 7 million low-income households (60%) were forced to go without essentials like food, adequate clothing and basic toiletries in the six months to May 2024.

• 5 million low-income households (42%) took fewer showers or baths due to cost during the cost-of-living crisis so far.

• 7 in 10 (71%) low-income households in the bottom 20% of incomes were going without essentials in May this year, the same as May last year.

The latest JRF cost of living tracker, completed in the same month the election was called, also found over a third of low-income families, 4.3m households are in arrears with at least one household bill or credit commitment. 1.2 million low-income households are in arrears with four or more bills.

In the past year, food banks in the Trussell Trust network distributed a record 3.1m emergency food parcels.