Which? launches cost of living manifesto

Which? is calling for urgent policy interventions to help households nearing breaking point over the spiralling cost of living.

We've outlined a series of calls to lower household costs in a manifesto to tackle unfair rip-offs and improve access to essentials. 

This follows our research findings that most UK adults (85%) are now worried about food prices, with the conflict in the Middle East fuelling fears of further cost pressures.

Read on to find out what we're calling for, and what you can do to keep your bills down.

• Find out more: Which?'s cost of living manifesto

Confidence in the UK economy plummets

Our research found that half of UK adults feel like the UK economy doesn't work for people like them, leading to profound disillusionment: 

• 82% of UK adults feel they are constantly paying more but getting less
• 74% feel that big businesses take advantage of ordinary people
• 68% say they're fed up with being ripped off
• 56% don’t think everyday products and services are priced fairly

The public expects a more decisive response from their government. 

Two thirds of UK adults feel the government is not doing enough to support people’s current standards of living (68%) or tackle businesses that take advantage of consumers (65%). 

All this means there is urgent pressure on the government to find interventions that will ease household costs, improve consumer confidence and restore faith in markets.

• Find out more: Which? consumer insight tracker

Millions skipping meals

Households across the country are having to take increasingly drastic measures to cope with rising costs, according to our latest consumer insight tracker. 

We also found that most UK adults (85%) are worried about food prices. 

Two thirds of households have made at least one adjustment to their shopping or eating habits in the past month to reduce how much they spend on food. 

The most common of these were buying cheaper products (43%), buying more supermarket own-label budget-range items (37%), and buying extra items when on promotion (31%).

Concerningly, we found that one in seven UK households reported going without some foods, and one in 10 – equivalent to three million households – are now skipping meals to keep the cost of their weekly shop down. 

• Find out more: how to spend less at the supermarket

Fuel prices spark concern

We also found that 83% of UK adults are worried about fuel prices – up from 71% in February of this year. 

More than two thirds have changed their driving habits to battle costs, with knock-on effects on their social and family lives. 

Changes include making fewer leisure trips over the past month (33%) and planning journeys more carefully (23%). However, about one in eight said they had visited friends and family less. 

Financial difficulty has risen rapidly throughout 2026. In the month to 10 April, more than half, or an estimated 15 million UK households, made adjustments to cover essential spending, such as cutting back on essentials (29%), using savings (25%), selling possessions (9%), or borrowing from friends or family (9%). Worryingly, 7.7% of UK households missed a household bill, loan or credit card payment. 

These findings intensify pressure on the government to ease household costs, improve consumer confidence and restore faith in markets. 

Businesses must also do everything possible to ensure they're offering genuine value for money.

• Find out more: how to save fuel and other money-saving driving tips

What Which? is calling for

It's abundantly clear that the British public is struggling with the cost of living, and the government has been right to prioritise this issue in recent months. 

Our new cost of living manifesto outlines a series of calls on politicians and regulators, including:

Lower energy bills 

• The government should further remove environmental and social levies from energy bills and fund these through general taxation.
• Ofgem should collate a database of all current smart energy tariffs open to new customers to make it easier to find a good deal. 

Improve access to affordable, healthy food

• Improve the effectiveness of the Healthy Start Scheme by increasing its value and expanding its eligibility.
• Secure commitments from supermarkets to provide a range of affordable, healthy products in smaller stores.
• The government should apply pressure to supermarkets to remove unfair restrictions on loyalty scheme membership.

Make fuel affordable

• The Chancellor should delay the removal of the temporary fuel duty cut, scheduled to begin in September 2026.
• The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) must take urgent enforcement action against any retailers confirmed to have breached their Fuel Finder obligations.

Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, said: 'Our latest research highlights the deepening strain not only on household finances, but also on people’s physical and social wellbeing as cost of living pressures bite.

'Many are already making difficult choices, such as skipping meals. Without meaningful interventions, the number of people taking drastic measures is likely to increase.

'We need to see urgent action, as set out in our cost of living manifesto, to address these costs and help restore confidence before even more households are pushed into serious financial difficulty.'

• Find out more: Which?'s cost of living manifesto plus other calls on tackling rip-offs