# Cost of Living (v.UK)



## Clic Clac

How are things with you regarding the cost of living?

I tend to hear more from the UK than here, and it's certainly a nightmare over there.

I put the BBC on, then tried to re-tune as I thought I'd got the BBC World Service broadcasting from some Banana Republic.

The boss of Iceland (supermarket chain) reporting that the food banks are refusing to take potatoes & some veg because

the public won't take them due to the cost of fuel needed to boil them. 

Their energy price cap has just gone up by 54% this morning.

As it's now April they also have increases with council tax, national insurance, most broadband & phone contracts which are linked to inflation,

as well as sharing petrol & food hikes with us.

Over here I've only really noticed food & petrol increases, but maybe we'll see more after the election. 

I'm just going to put a couple more of these chairs on the fire. We save where we can. 😀


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## tardigrade

If you are looking at food prices, I guess the supermarkets have websites in the UK, just like France.. You could have a look at them and compare yours and jrs menu here to there..

Books also burn very well and sometimes for a long time.


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## EuroTrash

I'm currently "there".
Things are getting more expensive. It's got to the point where you feel humbly grateful if you find something you can buy at the same price you paid for it last week or the week before.
It certainly means that unless you happen to be a Crony you have to think carefully about what you buy. And yes I am sure it is a nightmare for many unfortunates. Apparently Citizens Advice are overwhelmed with people who are already stressed and depressed over their finances and all the signs are that it will get worse before it starts getting better..
But Rishi has promised to cut income tax shortly before the next general election in a few years' time. So if we survive until then all will be well and we will be so grateful to Rishi for the long awaited tax cut that we will vote for him. And if we don't survive, no matter because we won't be able to vote against him. At least I take that to be the thinking.


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## gprit

Petrol is certainly the item most increased here in France where I live.....food...a littlw but not too much.
energy is capped at 4% from April...and hopefully y the time the next increase is due, teh cost of raw energy will ahve come back down.
The biggest boost for me (on UK pensions) is that better exchanche rate from GBP/euro.


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## Clic Clac

EuroTrash said:


> But Rishi has promised to cut income tax shortly before the next general election in a few years' time.


Ah yes, the gloss has certainly slipped from Fishi Rishi, spotted this week in his £300+ training shoes. 

Jam Tomorrow, or, as you say, 2024 to be precise.

Even worse he's had to start copying Will Smith's Oscar rant :

"Get my wife out your ***** mouth" 
after it was discovered she trousered 
12 MILLION quid last year in dividends from her father's business which still trades in Russia.

As call-me-Dave used to say, 
"we're all in it together." 🙉


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## Befuddled

tardigrade said:


> If you are looking at food prices, I guess the supermarkets have websites in the UK, just like France.. You could have a look at them and compare yours and jrs menu here to there..
> 
> Books also burn very well and sometimes for a long time.


What kind of books? I used to sell paperbacks at local vide greniers but Covid killed those events and the books were getting damp so I took a few hundred to the deshetterie. They would only smoulder and not give off much heat. I could do with something to burn at the moment.


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## Befuddled

Anyone wondering about cost of living problems in UK should have been listening to James O'brian on LBC this morning. Stories from mothers phoning in with full time jobs unable to afford to turn on the heat. Testimony from people from charities and other sources of help with stories that would bring you to tears. Announcement that the Chancellor (Rich Sunak who's wife's family is one of the richest on the planet) was "looking into" it.


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## Clic Clac

Befuddled said:


> What kind of books?
> They would only smoulder and not give off much heat.


Exactly.
The only way books keep you warm is to read one whilst wrapped in a duvet.


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## BackinFrance

So are you still considering going back to the UK, Clickie??? Probably not a good idea, even taking into account that the cost of living is increasing here. If it gets worse after the elections, the GJs will be back in force with more support than ever.


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## EuroTrash

BackinFrance said:


> the GJs will be back in force with more support than ever.


What joy.
Stuck in queues for hours, can't get where you want to go and do what you want to do, everybody at each others throats argufying, buildings smashed up.
Was it worth it?


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## tardigrade

BackinFrance said:


> the GJs will be back in force with more support than ever.


Le Pen will control them. No worries...


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## BackinFrance

EuroTrash said:


> What joy.
> Stuck in queues for hours, can't get where you want to go and do what you want to do, everybody at each others throats argufying, buildings smashed up.
> Was it worth it?


I am just saying that, totally unlike the British who simply cry into their cup of tea, the French are prepared to go out on the streets, demonstrate and go out on strike. Right now even the current government is desperate to avoid that, and they are not alone in that view, at least if you discount Zemmour who appears to have no chance in the first round.

Edit 
And exactly how much did the GJs affect you personally?

Paris is the seat of government.


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## BackinFrance

tardigrade said:


> Le Pen will control them. No worries...


She however has totally changed her approach, except in terms of immigrants, and she is now only 2% ahead of the next contender according to current polls - she is slipping back and he is gaining. It's not over until it's over.


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## tardigrade

BackinFrance said:


> She however has totally changed her approach, except in terms of immigrants, and she is now only 2% ahead of the next contender according to current polls - she is slipping back and he is gaining. It's not over until it's over.


Not according to this -









Macron kickstarts re-election campaign as Le Pen gains ground


Voters trust French president over his handling of war in Ukraine but accuse him of ducking political debate at home




www.theguardian.com





One of her main rallying points is to control the higher costs to Frances' consumers (back on topic). 
She always gets my vote I just wish it was her niece running.


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## BackinFrance

tardigrade said:


> Not according to this -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Macron kickstarts re-election campaign as Le Pen gains ground
> 
> 
> Voters trust French president over his handling of war in Ukraine but accuse him of ducking political debate at home
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.theguardian.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> One of her main rallying points is to control the higher costs to Frances' consumers (back on topic).
> She always gets my vote I just wish it was her niece running.


Out of date and I certainly don't rely on the Guardian to tell me me what's happening politically in France


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## Clic Clac

BackinFrance said:


> So are you still considering going back to the UK, Clickie??? Probably not a good idea, even taking into account that the cost of living is increasing here.


Not sure yet BiF.
I might have to, but I want to be clear about what it's going to cost over there.

I just don't recognise the place anymore. 
They have Boris the Clown for PM, with the worst Cabinet of shy-sters in living memory, and the Leader of HM Opposition who can't answer whether or not a woman can have a 'male appendage'. 😲

I'll decide this month whilst away, but I'm more worried about being 'north of 60' and risking joining the NHS queues in a pandemic.


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## BackinFrance

IIRC your main reason for moving to the UK was your son's education, but what with all the issues in the UK I doubt very much that you could rely on the education system anyway.

In any case, I wish you luck.


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## boilerman

Its like a northern Iraqi tribe, Shiite.
Its not the end of the world for us, because we've always been lucky enough to be able to keep things in check. That said, its seriously bad for the vast majority of the working classes. But its ok, because we've been given 5p off a litre of fuel. A fact that makes no difference to anyone because its around £1.65/70 a litre. As ET said, most people wont survive till the tax cut comes into place. 
No,BIF is right, apathy rules here, we've been discouraged from public outcries and demonstrations, and in fact, some have been made illegal.
There were demonstrations a few years ago, when fuel passed the £1 a litre mark, now we're like beaten dogs. Just suck it up and the rich will let it trickle down to you, when they feel it wont hurt them. The only hope is Johnson and ****in get the same bullet.😠


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## EuroTrash

BackinFrance said:


> Edit
> And exactly how much did the GJs affect you personally?


Since you ask, a fair bit of inconvenience and delay, and there were times when I felt unpleasantly intimidated as a lone female being harangued by big burly pumped-up GJs at roundabouts and surrounded by impatient motorists all blaring horns trying to get past each other, but that's by the by, I'm long over that.
I felt more sickened by the ugly scenes of violence and wanton wrecking in Paris and other cities that I watched on TV, heritage damaged and town halls set fire to and thousands of euros of damage that has to be paid for by somebody, and that is what sticks in my throat..And if the GJ movement starts again, all that will happen again. I just wish there could be a middle way between the UK's apathy and the French not knowing where to stop.


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## BackinFrance

EuroTrash said:


> Since you ask, a fair bit of inconvenience and delay, and there were times when I felt unpleasantly intimidated as a lone female being harangued by big burly pumped-up GJs at roundabouts and surrounded by impatient motorists all blaring horns trying to get past each other, but that's by the by, I'm long over that.
> I felt more sickened by the ugly scenes of violence and wanton wrecking in Paris and other cities that I watched on TV, heritage damaged and town halls set fire to and thousands of euros of damage that has to be paid for by somebody, and that is what sticks in my throat..And if the GJ movement starts again, all that will happen again. I just wish there could be a middle way between the UK's apathy and the French not knowing where to stop.


Those serious events though were not the work of the ordinary GJs, but infiltrators, as I am absolutely sure you are aware. Some incidents, including GJs trying to get into an intensive care ward in Paris were the result of police tactics that forced protesters onto a narrow walkway by using tear gas etc, leaving them nowhere to go despite initial false reports including by Castzner (there are many media reports on that particular incident and comparing the reports of 1 May with those on and after 3 May is extremely enlightening).such a shame you were 'inconvenienced' by people trying to defend their rights under the Paris and previous climate change agreements and struggling to make a living. 
I certainly won't defend some motorists though, particularly those who caused serious injury to protesters and other members of the public.

Clearly you are best located in the UK.


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## conky2

BackinFrance said:


> Those serious events though were not the work of the ordinary GJs, but infiltrators, as I am absolutely sure you are aware. Some incidents, including GJs trying to get into an intensive care ward in Paris were the result of police tactics that forced protesters onto a narrow walkway by using tear gas etc, leaving them nowhere to go despite initial false reports including by Castzner (there are many media reports on that particular incident and comparing the reports of 1 May with those on and after 3 May is extremely enlightening).such a shame you were 'inconvenienced' by people trying to defend their rights under the Paris and previous climate change agreements and struggling to make a living.
> I certainly won't defend some motorists though, particularly those who caused serious injury to protesters and other members of the public.
> 
> Clearly you are best located in the UK.


Codswallop


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## BackinFrance

conky2 said:


> Codswallop


LBDs.


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## BackinFrance

Why did Castaner lose his job?


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## tardigrade

BackinFrance said:


> LBDs.


What????
*LBDS* 

AcronymDefinitionLBDSLittle Black Dress Shop _(Toronto, Ontario, Canada)_LBDSLaser-Based Detection SystemLBDSLipid-Based Delivery Systems _(pharmaceuticals)_LBDSLiver-Blood Deficiency SyndromeLBDSLactate-Based Dialysis Solution


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## conky2

BackinFrance said:


> Why did Castaner lose his job?


He launched the Little Black Dress movement. And Jolly nice they were too. I used to go around roundabouts for hours and hours on end.


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## BackinFrance

tardigrade said:


> What????
> *LBDS*
> 
> AcronymDefinitionLBDSLittle Black Dress Shop _(Toronto, Ontario, Canada)_LBDSLaser-Based Detection SystemLBDSLipid-Based Delivery Systems _(pharmaceuticals)_LBDSLiver-Blood Deficiency SyndromeLBDSLactate-Based Dialysis Solution





https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanceur_de_balles_de_d%C3%A9fense


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## Bevdeforges

If you want to discuss the cost of living in the UK, I suggest you start a discussion over on the UK/Brit forum.


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