Written By Jasper Freeman and Xavier Wallin

The cost of living has skyrocketed over the past year; energy bills, groceries and interest rates have all increased. Caused by Brexit, Covid-19 and the Russo-Ukraine war, it is clear that this inflationary crisis will have deep socio-economic consequences for much of the British population. We wanted to find out how the people of Guildford were affected.

Firstly, the cost of living is forcing Guildford locals to push back their retirement. One individual, a senior aircraft engineer, stated how despite “planning on retiring this year” he was going to have “defer it by another 6 months” as a result of economic uncertainty. The average aircraft engineer earns 45 000 pounds in the UK, 18 000 more than the medium income and yet still seems to be affected. He further explained how he is sure that the “it is going to hit us soon”. Aircraft engineers earn on average £45 000, approximately 15 000 more than the medium income in the UK. The fact that someone who earns so much more than the average person is struggling, forebodes a dangerous future for the inhabitants of Guildford.

Oliver, a student from Guildford, said that whilst the cost-of-living crisis had not affected him personally, mentioned how increased prices caused his family ‘to turn on their heating later in the year to cut back on cost’. This same sentiment was shared by his friend Matthew, saying ‘The cost-of-living crisis has not affected me… I am sure it has affected them (my parents) financially.  Another student Oscar said, ‘The living crisis has been tough for me personally because I have had to cut back on McDonalds’.

Christmas lights: Hot or not?

The common sentiment in Guildford was that the Christmas lights were in fact a good idea, even despite the current energy crisis. However, there were still doubts over the morality of the decision – one shopper said, “it would be better if the money went to other sectors”. Another frequent view was that it would be beneficial for the council to turn off the lights at 00:00 in order to save energy. Overall, most Guildfordians agreed that, as said by Mr Fooley, “it’s Christmas and they are important to raise morale”.