A cost of living crisis, war and Partygate – if you’re exhausted, you’re not alone

One thing we can all do is give out kindness to each other in the face of so much stress and suffering, writes Harriet Williamson

We are facing the biggest fall in living standards since the 1950s (Getty/iStock)

You’d be forgiven for feeling overwhelmed at the moment. We are facing the biggest fall in living standards since the 1950s. Energy bills are shooting up by around £700, with a household using a typical amount of gas and electricity now paying an average of £1,971 per year.

The energy price cap has been allowed to rise by 54 per cent, unlike in France, for example, where the government has capped energy price rises at 4 per cent. Help from our chancellor, Rishi Sunak, comes in the form of a £200 loan.

Our digital editor Alice Murphy wrote a blistering article for Voices yesterday about “Britain’s collapse into state-sanctioned poverty”.