A thermal image taken in Guildford in Dec. 2021. The recent surge in wholesale energy costs means regulated gas and electricity prices will increase sharply.
Photographer: Jason Alden/BloombergThe U.K. Is Two Months Away From a Brutal Cost-of-Living Crisis
Britons battered by the virus are facing a dangerous combination of rampant inflation, rising interest rates — and tax hikes.
Soaring energy prices and rising inflation are causing policy headaches around the world. In the U.K., though, the government is raising taxes at the same time, kicking off an economic experiment in one of the countries worst-hit by the pandemic.
Britain’s acute cost-of-living crunch will hit in April, instantly stretching household and company budgets and penalizing the poorest households, many of which have already been most impacted by Covid-19.