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Christmas lights along the High Street in Dunbar, East Lothian
by our industrial reporter @TrinderMatt
THE TUC warned today that people are facing the most difficult Christmas in nearly a decade as rising inflation and low wages leave many struggling to cover basic living costs.
The trade union body pushed the Tory government for an urgent plan to get pay rising as new official figures showed that the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of inflation surged to 5.1 per cent in November — its highest level since September 2011.
Higher transport and energy costs drove the increase, which was well above the forecast rate of 4.7 per cent, the Office for National Statistics said.
Campaigners urge government to ignore profiteering oil lobbyists and help those hit hardest by rising energy prices
Roger McKenzie talks to general secretary of Unison CHRISTINA McANEA about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on members, the local government funding emergency and the threat of Reform UK
