Yesterday's RHDI data was bad news - down 0.8% in the first quarter of 2026 (during a period of strong GDP growth) Worse news is that latest projections imply that, without policy action, living standards are projected to continue declining over the remainder of the parliament.

Andy Burnham is right that people need "breathing space" Household incomes are expected to be £740 (1.7%) lower in 2029/30 than they were at the beginning of the parliament And the lowest income households are set to face the biggest falls (3.4%) But it doesn't have to be this way

Three key takeaways from this mornings labour market statistics: 1. Overall employment rates have remained pretty stable over the past year - movements up and down in the unemployment rate are largely explained by changes in inactivity.

There is an increasing sense that the UK's approach towards fiscal policymaking, and in particular the excessive focus on "headroom", isn't delivering good outcomes. Come along on 19 February to hear me make the case for how we could do things differently, and to hear from our terrific panel.

Households needed the Chancellor to take decisive action in her Budget today to tackle the living standards crisis. And she has made the first step towards doing so.

7 million households had to go without an essential good such as food, heating or basic toiletries in the past six months. This has now remained the case for 4 consecutive years. To improve this we need the support provided by social security to cover the basic cost of essentials.

Put cost of living at heart of Budget for growth and fairness

New JRF figures but the same old story: the Government needs to address the cost of living crisis overwhelming millions of UK households to deliver growth, with fairness at its heart.

jrf.org.uk