Eye-opening diaries show the reality of life for Greater Manchester families on benefits

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Carol used to make a Sunday dinner for the whole family, but when she looked at her meter and saw one meal had cost her £7, she had to stop. “Politicians don't have to worry about feeding their kids and the prices.

They could have a full cooked meal and not think of the price whereas families on my estate struggle,” she says. The grandmother, from Tameside, has been struggling to make ends meet and worries things will only get harder this winter as the cost of living crisis starts to bite.

She often looks after her granddaughters, whose parent has ‘very poor mental health’ and is regularly hospitalised. “They have to stay with me so that they don’t end up in care,” she says.

The Prime Minister is currently considering a benefits rise in line with earnings , rather than soaring inflation - which would essentially represent a real-terms cut.