Martin Lewis: Rishi Sunak needs to ‘suck it up’ and help with cost of living crisis

Martin Lewis has said Rishi Sunak needs to "suck up" his low tax ideology and commit to helping struggling Brits amid the spiralling cost-of-living crisis.

The Money Saving Expert made a scathing assessment of the chancellor's interventions ahead of the Spring Statement on Thursday.

Sunak has repeatedly said he wants to cut taxes in the future.

"I am going to deliver a lower tax economy - but I am going to do so in a responsible way, and in a way that tackles our long term challenges," Sunak said in a speech at the Bayes Business School in February.

"I firmly believe in lower taxes."

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Lewis said the current cost-of-living crisis was the worst he'd ever seen since he began his job as a consumer champion more than two decades ago.

He warned that the crisis has not only been driven by the war in Ukraine, which is driving up prices, adding "much of it was in place before we got here".

"The chancellor has to suck his ideology up of wanting to be a low tax chancellor, because this isn't the time, and with energy bills looking to rise £1,300 in a year - which is absolutely what is nailing this more than anything else," Lewis said on Good Morning Britain in his role as a guest host.

"People will need help or they will have to choose between starving and freezing. When I say on virtually out of tools, that's because in past times I would say you're paying too much, you're on the price cap you need to fix, and here's the savings.

"There are no fixes available on the open market that anyone should be going for.

"There are very few existing customer fixes."

Read more: 'No historical parallel': Labour says Britons are facing worst ever cost of living pressures

The energy price cap increased by 54% in February – meaning the average annual energy bill will rise by £693 to £1,971 - with experts warning it could surpass £3,000 by October.

Lewis donated £50,000 to a charity last week, telling Yahoo News UK: "I did this purely for selfish reasons.

"I was feeling pretty low after my this morning phone in - I've spent the last 20 years giving people answers to help them on their bills - and I'm running short of answers as we edge closer to April's financial precipice.

"I find it very hard to imagine how many vulnerable people will cope."

It comes amid growing pressure on Sunak ahead of Spring Statement, where the chancellor is being pressured to pull something out the bag to help struggling Brits.

Traditionally a "mini-budget" without any significant spending or fiscal announcements, soaring energy bills and ballooning inflation has left the stakes high.

In a sign of the severity of the deteriorating situation, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned the growing cost-of-living crisis could leave households facing the "biggest hit" to living standards since the 2008/09 financial crisis.

The IFS has said the economic hit to UK households could top £40bn in the coming months.

Read more: Warning that bread and pasta prices could increase by 50%: 'It might not end there

“Whatever he does, we can be sure that it won’t be enough to insulate all of us from all of the pressures on our budgets," said IFS director, Paul Johnson in a grim warning on Monday.

Inflation is currently at 5.5%, the highest in decades - with some experts warning it could hit more than 9% - driving up the cost of basic essentials like food and fuel.

The Resolution Foundation has said inflation is driving a fall in real terms incomes - worth £1,000 for a typical earner, making it the sharpest living standards squeeze since the 1970s.

Watch: Martin Lewis warns he is 'virtually out of tools' to help people amid cost of living crisis