A war on bills: Why the government should focus relentlessly on the cost of living

Budgets are never easy, but this autumn’s will be particularly painful. The chancellor needs to raise taxes, yet people do not think that existing tax money is spent well. This comes from a lack of trust that government can make a positive difference to their lives. 

Good policy on its own is not enough. People need to notice and feel that the government is changing things. The government should start a relentless pursuit of lowering the cost of living – and do so in a way that is grabs people’s attention.

The cost of living remains on top of voters’ minds

The cost of living is something people experience daily. Prices are high and wage growth (through economic growth), which has been flat for years, is only slowly making up lost ground. Based on our polling, energy and food costs rank as the top two concerns, followed by council tax and housing (figure 1).

The public think that the government is both to blame for, and responsible for 'solving', high prices: more than one-third blame both past and current government failure for continued high costs. It ranks above all other drivers, including impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war or Brexit. Prices are the key metric which the government is being judged by voters.

A ‘war on bills’ campaign can show the government is on people’s side

Progressive governments abroad have shown that attention-grabbing policies on the cost of living can be a powerful way for the government to signal its values. The Australian Labor party pursued a multitude of policies: small reductions in energy bills, tax cuts, student debt reduction, cheaper healthcare, and evidence-based criticism of price gouging. Whether workers’ rights or public services – the message was cost. 

One of the lessons from Australia is that voters do not expect their government to fully solve the cost of living – but they do need genuine proof that it is fighting their corner. Even if policies do not reverse high prices, they should leave people’s lives better than without action and help to address a sense of injustice in the economy and the (often correct) notion that markets are not delivering for working people. Spain ran a similar strategy in 2023 (which included lowering electricity bills and offering free public transport), as did the Norwegians in September. 

Interventions do not have to be huge – in fact a series of small measures has benefits. Multiple small measures build a narrative and make prosecuting a singular argument on living standards easier. The longer the list, the more convincing the argument is that the government is doing everything it can. A series of small measures can also build the cost of living infrastructure that can make delivery of bigger policies in the future faster and more targeted.

Smaller-scale interventions should, of course, not come at the expense of structural answers – and we do have structural answers: economic growth, housebuilding, clean power. But identifying and delivering ‘down payments’ in the short-term builds confidence until longer-term solutions come to fruition. This approach helps smooth progress on living standards, which can be slow or intractable. 

A core aspect of a ‘war on bills’ campaign should be energy

For the public, there is one primary driver of cost concerns – energy. The average bill in Q4 2025 is over 50 per cent higher than in Q1 2021 – mostly from continued high gas prices, but electricity network costs have also risen. Electricity costs will rise further: investing in new generation is funded through bills, as is new infrastructure like hydrogen. The electricity grid needs substantial investment after 14 years of neglect, with those costs set to spike next year.

A package of smaller measures on bills can tie these causes to solutions.

1. Removing levies that are not serving a clear purpose. The Climate Change Levy on energy generation is not driving decarbonisation, while the incoming levy on hydrogen will not benefit growth or consumers.
2. Putting pressure on Ofgem for their cost of capital calculations for network investment. Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez had real success with energy windfall taxes, and there is potential a case of £4 billion rent extraction here.
3. Where there is money – spending it visibly. People do not know VAT is a line item on energy bills, cutting it will not be noticed. Rather than forgo revenue, use that £2.5 billion to subsidise electricity – with the prime minister writing to the public to let them know.
4. Electrifying demand, not just generation is the route to lower bills. Funding solar, batteries and EVs all lower costs, and the Warm Homes Plan will start to create cohorts that feel that. 

But food is also going to be a growing problem

Food prices have risen by 35 per cent since 2019, more than wider inflation which is up by 28 per cent. In the previous decade, food prices grew little, anchoring the public expectations. Since the sharp increase, supermarket profits have been below historical averages. But the Competition and Markets Authority(CMA) found that three-quarters of branded suppliers in specific product categories – including infant formula, baked beans, mayonnaise, and pet food – increased their unit profitability between 2021 and 2023 This is often driven by high market concentration – in infant formula just three firms account for more than 90 per cent of supply. 

Both France and Australia have shown that action on food prices is possible and effective. The French government brokered a voluntary pact with retailers to cut margins on thousands of goods. The Australian government pushed for a major review of supermarket pricing, combined with repeated political communication. The prime minister was willing to ‘pick fights’ with Anthony Albanese saying that supermarkets were “taking the piss”. Resulting awareness and appreciation of efforts was significantly higher in Australia than France.

The UK could follow suit by introducing:  

1. short, timeboxed bargains with visible ‘war on bills’ labelling including for shrinkflation
2. via the gov.uk app, highlighted ‘poster child’ retailers who pass on lower input costs to consumers.
3. enforced stockage of non-brand items, especially in smaller ‘convenience’ supermarkets
4. ensurance that any discounts are available to all, not just members.

The government could set up a ‘war on bills cabinet’

This approach to supermarkets is replicable in many other salient areas. In its cost of living report, the CMA has highlighted rogue business practices that are increasing costs for people or making their day-to-day life more difficult. This includes consumer harming practices in ground rent and leasehold mis-selling, petrol stations or veterinary services (where prices rose by more than 60 per cent since 2014 – significantly above inflation). 

The CMA has conducted investigations and made recommendations which are taken forward by individual government departments, but with little public notice. The ‘war on bills cabinet’ could make these more public and consistently link pro-consumer actions to the overall cost of living branding. This would involve key ministers, who would do active media interventions around this. 

Actions here – some of which are already actively being considered – include:  

• stopping in-contract price rises
• making it easier or automatic for consumers to switch contracts, while removing exit fees
• taking ground rents to near zero
• preventing companies keeping overpayments as account credit.

The ‘war on bills’ should be an ongoing programme

Communications are as important as the policy package – addressing cost of living is not a one-off budget framing – it's the start of a consistent strategy for parliament. Australian Labor used new media, recruiting authentic influencers as authentic, trusted third-party validators to seed their message on social media. 

There could be ‘war on bills’ consistent branding – logos, imagery, boilerplates and design – that would apply to both announcements and ongoing implementation. It could link to government’s new digital wallet. For example, energy bills reductions could be delivered in this way: people could check if they qualify for support programmes, or if a certain sector is affected by price reduction policies.

The sum of these small economic policies can be a crucial tool in political communication. The more people encounter ‘war on bills’ action, the more faith they might have that government can improve the things that matter to them. Whether it's getting energy bill credits, whether being notified that they are being moved to a cheaper contract, or whether they are told that ground rent inflation is being held – all of these could be communicated consistently, and under a unifying banner: the cost is too damn high and the government is acting on it.