Food inflation: 'North Herts residents skip meals amid soaring costs'

This comes as new figures from the Office for National Statistics show food inflation climbed to a staggering 19.1 per cent in April.

Publishing the analysis, North Herts Labour’s Cllr Elizabeth Dennis said: "The cost of living crisis is getting deeper and deeper and families in North Herts are paying the price.

North Herts Labour data analysis has found that North Herts residents are eating less or skipping meals amid rising food costs (Image: Rebecca Stewart)

"Almost a fifth of us have now been forced to skip meals or eat less – that is a disgrace, yet our out of touch government is asleep at the wheel. The Conservatives got us into this mess by crashing the economy, but Labour will get us out of it. 

UK inflation rate for food & non-alcoholic drinks. (Image: PA Graphics)

"A Labour government would support local families by freezing council taxes this year – fully funded through a proper windfall tax on the bumper profits of oil and gas giants, and a clear mission to get Britain’s economy growing at the fastest rate on the G7 – making every part of the country better off."

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Inflation on the whole dropped back into single figures for the first time this year, at 8.7 per cent in April - down from 10.1 per cent in March.

MP for North East Herts, Sir Oliver Heald, has said there's more work to do to bring inflation down (Image: UK Parliament)

In response to Labour's analysis, North Herts Herts MP Sir Oliver Heald told this newspaper: "It is good that inflation has fallen, but, as the Chancellor said, we should not be complacent because there is more work to do.

"It is right to highlight the impact of food inflation, which is too high, in common with levels seen in other European countries, such as Sweden and Germany.

"The Government are providing significant support to help people with the cost of living, and the Chancellor has met companies in the supermarket and food supply chain to make sure that they are doing everything they can to bring prices down and has also taken the matter up in discussions with the Regulator.

"The sad thing is that the Labour Party has offered no ideas on how to improve the situation."

How inflation rate for everyday food & drink items has risen or fallen (Image: PA Graphics)