How the soaring cost of living can help us refocus

Whatever question they get asked, we have witnessed politicians on every side swiftly segue onto the subject of the cost of living.

It is an issue which affects all but the most privileged of the voting public, though it also serves to dodge difficult questions on other subjects.

No doubt all of us are impacted by price rises. We have watched the numbers fly up and up at the fuel pump. We have tried not to take too sharp an intake of breath when we are presented with the bill at the bar, restaurant or takeaway. We have found ourselves tracking the weekly increase at the supermarket till. We are changing our habits, spending less on luxuries and more on essentials. Our holidays, if we have managed to get away, are more modest.