STRUGGLE TO COPE FOR MILLIONS AS THE BIG SQUEEZE TIGHTENS

EXCLUSIVE POLL REVEALS EXTENT OF CRISIS

- Nicholas Cecil

MILLIONS of people would find it "very difficult" to cope with inflation sky-rocketing to 11 per cent, a poll revealed today highlighting the scale of the economic crisis set to hit Britain.

The Ipsos survey for the Standard found a third, 32 per cent of adults, say they would be plunged into a dire financial situation if inflation spirals later this year to the double-digit level forecast by the Bank of England.

A further 52 per cent would have to make some cutbacks but could cope. Fifteen per cent say they would not have to make any changes due to inflation, which was 9.1 per cent in May, climbing by another two percentage points.

Londoners, younger people, women, public sector workers, renters, Labour voters, people from ethnic minorities, semi/unskilled manual workers and those only living off state benefits were all more likely to say they would find it very difficult to cope.

For London, where the cost of living is already higher than in other regions, 49 per cent say they would find it very difficult to cope. This is above the national average of 32 per cent, though the sample size for the regional breakdown was quite small, so these figures need to be treated with some caution.

Four in 10 Londoners, 39 per cent, say they are already finding it very hard to cope. As for the most likely areas of spending where individuals across Britain, if they had to make savings due to such high inflation, would do so: