I WAS disappointed to read the views of a Star reader last week who questioned whether people are really as short of money as we’ve been hearing during the general election campaign.

Well, let me tell you, maybe it’s not everyone but there are plenty out there making tough decisions every day about how to spend their money to ensure they can put food on the table, buy school uniform or put fuel in the tank/ pay fares to get to work each day.

Just this week, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) put out a study showing poverty in working households has increased by more than 1,300 children a week since 2010.

It says the number of kids growing up in poverty in working households has increased by 44% – that is more than 900,000 children in the UK – between 2010 and 2023.

The TUC argues the cause is a “toxic combination” of wage stagnation, rising insecure work, and social security cuts, which have had a “devastating impact” on family budgets.

It also cited data from the Office of National Statistics suggesting that if wages grown at the same rate since before the Tories took power, the average worker would be more than £14,000 a year better off.

There are plenty of people who are worse off and are struggling to make ends meet, believe me.

Star reader