NEF’s Alice Martin on the squeeze on living standards in London

Alice Martin, Subject Lead for Housing and Work, appeared on BBC London on Wednesday to discuss wages and the ​‘triple crunch’ on living standards facing households in London.

The latest ONS figures rank the capital as top in terms of its levels of disposable income — but these do not take into account the high costs of living faced by Londoners. Alice spoke of the squeeze on households which have come in the form of soaring cost of living, stagnating wages and an increased reliance on household debt.

In London millions are particularly suffering as a result of a broken property market and are facing a crisis of control over where they get to live.

Action is urgently needed to protect the most vulnerable. Rising costs for essentials must be met with efforts to raise wages. More must be done to address the housing crisis, through halting the public land fire sale, strengthening compulsory purchase powers and establishing a public land bank.

Communities across the country are leading the way, and the government must urgently follow their lead.