THE DAY TO DAY STRUGGLE

Politicians like to paint a picture of Britain as a country of happy, contented citizens going about their day to day life in a carefree manner. The reality however is much grimmer."One in five Britons are borrowing money for groceries because of the soaring cost of living, research reveals. One in four said they have had to dip into their savings to buy food or other daily essentials, while 19 per cent have gone into debt to do this. Another 10 per cent said they could envisage borrowing money to buy food in the future. The survey by consumer group Which? found that only 43 per cent of consumers feel they can afford to live on their income, while 36 per cent admitted to finding things difficult - twice the proportion who were struggling in 2006." (Daily Mail, 5 March) Having to borrow money in order to buy the groceries is hardly a recipe for contentment. RD