Poll: Public Support for Russian Sanctions Plummets in UK as Cost of Living Crisis Starts to Bite

Global energy and fuel prices have soared since the beginning of the year, with added “self-inflicted” volatility coming from the sweeping sanctions applied to Moscow over its special operation in Ukraine. As a result of the UK government’s actions, increasingly more people face a “cost of living” crisis.

Financial problems plaguing UK households are outweighing concerns linked with the current crisis in Ukraine, according to a poll cited by The Telegraph.

The proportion of the British public willing to reconcile themselves with higher fuel prices as a consequence of sweeping Western sanctions on Russia over its special operation in Ukraine plummeted by 14 points in a month, from 50 percent in March to 36 percent this week, showed the survey by Redfield and Wilton Strategies for the outlet.

Average petrol prices soared to 160.2 pence ($2.12) per litre in March 2022, compared with 123.7p ($1.64) per litre a year earlier. The trend followed the EU and the UK's sanctions on Russia's financial, logistics, and energy sectors, which have exacerbated the situation even further.

As the cost of living crisis starts to bite, 54 percent of those polled have confirmed that their financial woes escalated in the last year, up from 42 percent two months ago, Another 62 percent believe their pockets will be hit even harder in the year to come.

The poll, which questioned respondents regarding their financial situation, was carried out on 13 April, when the Office for National Statistics announced that the Consumer Prices Index rose 7 percent in March, up from the 6.2 percent the previous month.

Inflation was driven by record prices for gasoline and diesel, as well as costs of food, clothing, and furniture.

According to the statistics agency, wholesale prices were rising at their fastest pace since September 2008.

Amidst the skyrocketing fuel, energy, and grocery costs, less than a third of those polled said they had received a pay rise to cover inflation inroads. Two thirds stated that a bump in pay did little to counter the increasing cost of living.

This comes as earlier this year, the UK industry regulator, Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), raised its cap on gas bills to 1,971 pounds ($2,670) per year in response to the spike in the price of the commodity. This cap limits what suppliers can charge customers. As a result, energy bills for some 22 million customers grew by around £693 ($913). Prices are expected to rise again in six months' time.

Earlier, UK ministers warned that sanctions on Russia would have a knock-on effect on the cost of living.

Shortly after Russia announced its special operation to demilitarise and de-Nazify Ukraine, Liz Truss, the UK foreign secretary, acknowledged that Britain would take an “economic hit” because of the sanctions, but said it would be “far worse” to not respond to the crisis.

“The pain that we will face in the United Kingdom is nothing like the pain people in Ukraine are currently facing”, she said.