Brighton & Hove Labour Leader, Councillor Gill Mitchell has joined Ed Miliband, Leader of the Labour party, in warning that on average a couple with children and one person earning will be £1500 worse off this year. This is more than double the loss of a couple without children.

In addition to this, frontline service cuts, driven by the decision to go too far and too fast have been shown to hit couples with children twice as hard. Taken together these changes will mean a cost of living crisis for ordinary families in Brighton & Hove which will have a deep impact for years to come.

There is a concern that because the Government is making the situation worse, the cost of living crisis will not go away even when the economy recovers.

Brighton & Hove Labour Leader, Councillor Gill Mitchell, said:

“It is becoming increasingly clear that these Tory-led Government’s plans mean life in Brighton & Hove will be much tougher for families over the next few years. Obviously I am worried about how this will affect families in our area.

“By asking children and families to bear the brunt of their cuts, this Tory-led Government is showing that they have no idea what pressure ordinary local families are under.

Leader of the Labour Party, Ed Miliband, said:

“These changes fail a fundamental fairness test: that families with children should be protected, not unfairly targeted.

“Squeezed wages, squeezed prospects, squeezed aspirations

“That is why the British Promise, that the next generation would always do better than the last, is now under threat like never before.”