Parents in York say the scrapping of a government move to freeze energy bills for two years will lead to further household budget uncertainty, with purse strings already tight.
The chancellor earlier announced a reversal of tax cuts, with energy bill help beyond April now under review.
Jeremy Hunt said economic growth required “confidence and stability”.
But several parents at a soft play centre said they were worried political instability would hit their finances.
The announcement means the new chancellor has unwound almost all of Prime Minister Liz Truss’s key measures announced in September’s mini-budget.
‘I’ve not put the heating on yet’
Dawn Scott said her household food budget was £20 a day on essentials alone, with long-term energy bill worries a further headache.
“I live in a house with four boys, the cost of feeding them is massive now,” she said.
“I’ve not put the heating on yet, I know it’s going to clock up and clock up – we’re just putting extra clothing on to keep warm.”
She said the government should have stuck to fixing energy bills for two years to help people plan budgets.
“This isn’t going to be a quick fix and people need security, we need to know we’ve got some kind of stability,” she said.
“We’re going to struggle through winter, we’re going to be paying the debts off through the summer and we’ll be back to square one again come October next year.”
‘We redo our budget on a monthly basis’
“We’ve got a mortgage, we’ve got two young children, obviously they both cost a fair amount,” said Kim Brough.
“We both work for emergency services, we’re approaching mid-30s and we’d have liked to have been in the situation where things might have become a bit more comfortable, but it seems to be going the other way.”
She said the family’s energy bill would double soon after coming off a fixed rate and are having to put off making house improvements to help control funds.
“It’s having to go back through everything and redo our budget on a monthly basis,” she said.
“Anyone that doesn’t have a full-time job or can’t afford to work because of children, I just wonder what they are going to do.”
‘We have very little support’
Emma Forrester said she was currently on an unpaid section of her maternity leave, meaning her budget was having to be carefully managed.
“Help with childcare is really important, you look at how high childcare costs are in the UK at the moment compared to other countries at the moment, we have very little support,” she said.
“A lot of people I know don’t want to go back to work because the cost of childcare is more expensive than their income – you can understand why they wouldn’t want to go back straight away when all of their income would go on childcare.”
‘Why is she still in power?’
Dennis Peterson said his family live in a home which benefits from sustainable energy sources, keeping their bills down, but they have put off completing a mortgage application due to interest rate uncertainty.
“We’ve put our plans on hold, we’re going to wait and see if the market dips,” he said.
Discussing the prime minister’s future, he said: “She’s a lady who clearly has no policies any more, why is she still in power?
“She’s letting somebody else make the decisions she said she would make.”
‘It’s unfair on those already struggling’
Melanie Nickfield-Smith said her family’s gas and electricity bill had risen from £90 a month to almost £300, with the increase in costs of food essentials also making a “huge difference”.
“I’m most concerned about people who don’t have breathing space in their budget month to month, families who are already living on very tight budgets,” she said.
“There’s already such a great divide from the wealthy and the poor, it seems so unfair on those who are already struggling.”
