Pasta, bread, and crisps are among the budget food stapes to have seen the biggest price surges within the past year.
With the rising cost of living crisis continuing to make its impact felt across the UK, and with inflation having now hit the record 40-year high of 9%, campaigners are warning that the rise in cost for the cheapest supermarket staples could leave the country’s poorest families disproportionately hit.
New experimental data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today showed prices for some low-cost groceries increased at a much faster rate than general inflation.
They were up by an average of 6-7% from April 2021 to April 2022.
With prices rising for many UK households, we’ve released experimental analysis showing how the lowest priced grocery items have changed in price between Apr 2021 & Apr 2022 https://t.co/MCnUQxYDQ8
Our research is based on supermarket website data for 30 basic grocery items🛒 pic.twitter.com/6sRfok9SBf
— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) May 30, 2022
The ONS said that it decided to compile the data by tracking price changes for the lowest-cost everyday groceries sold by supermarkets online after the anti-poverty campaigner Jack Monroe highlighted the increase in price of essential items and drew attention to the fact that value ranges had even disappeared from some shelves completely.
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Monroe argued that this meant the true cost of living hasn’t been reflected in inflation figures.
The ONS found that the prices of five items from a basket of 30 basics compiled by government statisticians had shot up by 15% or more – with the price of pasta jumping the most and recording an increase of 50% from a year earlier.
The price of the cheapest 500g packet of pasta was 53p last month, which is compared to 36p a year ago.
The ONS figures also highlighted above-average-inflation price rises for other staple food items including crisps (17%), bread (16%), minced beef (16%), and rice (15%).
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While there has been increases in some staples, the ONS did however say it discovered “considerable variation” among the 30 items it looked at, with potatoes having gone down in price by 14% on last year, as well as a 7% drop in the price of cheese, pizza (4%), and chips and sausages (3%).
Jack Monroe – who worked with the ONS on the data compilation – has taken to Twitter today to give her reaction on the figures, saying “it is far more expensive to be poor”.
Her tweet read: “The ONS have released new data today tracking the price rises of the lowest-cost grocery items over the last year, and – backing up my own research and evidence from January – the hikes in the value brands and basics have been much higher than average inflation stats.
“As I have said for 10 years now, and as many others have pointed out before and alongside me, it’s FAR more expensive to be poor, and now the literal experts in data gathering and statistics are helpfully, methodically, forensically backing that up.
“This feels like huge progress.”
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Monroe said that she is “very grateful to have been a part of this process”, and added that she hopes going forward, “MPs who set the uprating figures for benefits, and also discussions around a real living wage, will take this disparity into account”.
Entertainment union Equity makes £1 bid for Manchester Pride to protect workers from ‘further exploitation’
Emily Sergeant
Performing arts and entertainment trade union Equity has made a £1 bid for Manchester Pride.
You may remember that, back in October last year, Manchester Pride – the charity / organisation that ran the Manchester Pride Festival – entered into voluntary liquidation, and news emerged last week that the assets were being sold off to the highest bidder by liquidators.
By offering a ‘symbolic’ £1 for the assets – which include the Manchester Pride brand name and associated domain names – Equity says its bid has been made to give workers the opportunity to ‘decide the future’ of the event.
The bid is also said to have been made to prevent a repeat of 2025 – which apparently left Equity union members more than £70,000 out-of-pocket in unpaid fees.
Equity’s variety organiser, Nick Keegan, warned that selling the Manchester Pride brand to a commercial buyer risks ‘undermining the values’ of the event and the community that built it.
He worried it could also leave performers and workers ‘vulnerable to further exploitation’.
“Manchester Pride is not just a city-wide party,” Mr Keegan explained. “Its roots in protest are as important today as then.”
He added: “Manchester Pride was built by the LGBTQ+ workers of Canal St and beyond who provide a space and a community for LGBTQ+ people all year round. The event should not be treated as a commodity to be bought and sold off to the highest bidder.
“The cultural workforce are at the heart of Pride, without them, there is no festival.
“After what happened in 2025, with members left tens of thousands of pounds out of pocket, we don’t want to see history repeat itself.”
Equity says that if its bid is successful, the workers will have control over who the ‘asset’ goes to.
“Our bid is about protecting Pride as a community asset, not a commercial one,” the union’s statement continued.
“Allowing the people whose labour was used to build this ‘asset’ to decide how the trademark of Manchester Pride is used in the future will help protect them from further exploitation, as well as preserve the values and the longevity of the event itself.”
Featured Image – Manchester Pride (Supplied)
News
New police hub to be set up in Piccadilly Gardens to help reduce anti-social behaviour
Emily Sergeant
A new police hub is set to be established in Piccadilly Gardens.
In case you missed it, it was announced last week that council tax in Greater Manchester could be increased to help fund improvements to policing, and that a consultation on it has been launched – with local residents urged to have their say.
The police precept helps Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to build on a range of improvements, including the speed of answering 999 and 101 calls, road and transport safety across Manchester city centre, and bringing more sex offenders to justice, among many other things.
Greater Manchester council tax is set to be increased again to help fund improvements to policing, and a consultation is now live. 🏘️🚔📝
But on top of this, Mayor Andy Burnham has also pledged to deliver a new police hub in Piccadilly Gardens as part of a wider drive to improve policing.
GMCA says its ‘top priority’ is to build strong communities where people feel safe, and it is Mayor Andy Burnham and his Deputy Mayors’ responsibility to enable GMP to be an ‘effective and efficient’ police force.
Local leaders say their ambition for 2026 is to maintain a ‘high-performing’ police service by tackling crime and anti-social behaviour, and protecting residents and businesses along the way – and part of this ambition is to increase police visibility in Piccadilly Gardens, which is a much-maligned part of the city centre, by launching a new ‘prominent’ police hub.
The increase in the police precept is also being touted to help increase ‘hot spot policing tactics’ in town centres and other key locations to help drive down theft and other violent retail crimes.
A new police hub is to be set up in Piccadilly Gardens to help reduce anti-social behaviour / Credit: Gerald England (via Geograph) | Rawpixel
“We need GMP to be properly funded if it is to continue to deliver an effective and responsive service for people in Greater Manchester,” commented Mayor Andy Burnham. “The cost of running a modern police force is going up and this is at a time when our city region has become the fastest-growing economy in the UK, with visitor numbers increasing year after year.
“So much is happening here and that includes a number of major and complex incidents over the past year, including a terrorist attack. These incidents added significant pressure to police resources.
“We recognise the ongoing impact of the rising cost of living and do not take the decision to increase the precept lightly. But right now, this increase is our only option to ensure GMP can continue delivering an effective police service that ensures that people feel safe in their own communities.”
Emily Sergeant -
30th May 2022 
