Families across Dorset are missing meals, cutting back on food, water and heating and missing payments for household bills.
More than half of those questioned (54%) said they were cutting back on hot water, heating or electricity to make ends meet.
Around 1 in 8 (12.12%) people in Dorset are missing meals or going without food.
The MRP poll of 10,000 people across the UK, reveals how the cost of living emergency is hitting family budgets in every single parliamentary constituency – and that more government action is needed to raise wages and cut bills.
Cutting back on food spending
The mega survey also reveals that just under half of Dorset residents are having to cut back on food spending – 42.79%
Rising bills
The poll shows households are deeply worried about rising bills. More than half in Dorset households (54.30%) are cutting back on heating, hot water or electricity.
6.10% of those polled in the Somerset reported missing payment of a household bill.
Benefits and wages
The TUC says the findings were a “stark reminder” of the cost living pressures facing households throughout the UK.
The union body says the government must:
- Stick to plans to uprate universal credit, benefits and pensions in line with inflation, and bring forward this uprating to before April. This must be the first step on a route to higher levels of universal credit, benefits and pensions.
- Get pay rising across the economy by backing trade unions and allowing unions to negotiate pay rises across whole sectors.
Benefits and wages
The TUC says the findings were a “stark reminder” of the cost living pressures facing households throughout the UK.
The union body says the government must:
- Stick to plans to uprate universal credit, benefits and pensions in line with inflation, and bring forward this uprating to before April. This must be the first step on a route to higher levels of universal credit, benefits and pensions.
- Get pay rising across the economy by backing trade unions and allowing unions to negotiate pay rises across whole sectors.
- Give key workers in the public sector cost of living proofed pay rises
- Raise the minimum wage to £15 an hour as soon as possible.
Today’s poll reveals that nearly more 3 in 5 (65%) back raising the minimum wage to £15 an hour.
South West TUC Regional Secretary Nigel Costley said:
“No one should have to worry about putting food on the table or heating their homes. But households across the region are struggling to cover even the basics.
“This polling lays bare Dorset’s cost of living emergency.
“Food and energy bills are soaring, but real wages are plummeting.
“Unless we get pay rising across the economy – and ensure benefits rise in line with inflation – we risk heading towards Victorian levels of poverty.
“The Conservatives should be working with unions to help households get through this crisis. But they want to make it harder for working people to win better pay and conditions.”
On the need to boost wages, Costley added:
“Instead of giving bungs to bankers and big business, ministers need to get money into people’s pockets.
“That’s the best way to boost spending in local economies and to deliver lasting growth.”
-Polling: Opinium conducted a poll of 10,495 GB adults from 26-30 September 2022 designed to be representative of the national population according to demographics and past voting behaviour. The data from the poll were analysed using a multilevel regression and post-stratification (MRP) approach to derive constituency-level estimates for the results of key questions including voting intention.
| constituency | Missed a payment on a household bill | Cut back on the amount of hot water, heating or electricity that me or my household use | Cut back on food spending | Missed meals or gone without food |
| Bournemouth East | 8.93 | 52.20 | 43.36 | 14.81 |
| Bournemouth West | 8.31 | 51.68 | 48.11 | 14.54 |
| Christchurch | 5.43 | 60.09 | 46.27 | 13.00 |
| 7.56 | 54.66 | 45.91 | 14.12 | |
| Dorset | ||||
| Mid Dorset & N Poole | 4.06 | 53.37 | 37.12 | 9.10 |
| North Dorset | 4.90 | 52.67 | 40.60 | 10.24 |
| Poole | 5.41 | 51.15 | 40.68 | 11.39 |
| South Dorset | 5.06 | 56.98 | 46.62 | 11.64 |
| West Dorset | 5.26 | 55.94 | 36.40 | 10.23 |
| 6.10 | 54.30 | 42.79 | 12.12 |
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