As the new Conservative government starts to take shape today, we believe that it must act swiftly to put consumers and their concerns at the heart of its agenda.
Our latest research shows that more people are starting to feel better about the economy but many are increasingly worried about public services, their pension and savings.
We believe that the new government must take swift action in its first 100 days.
Our top priorities for the government
– Appoint a consumer minister to the Cabinet with the power to deal with issues across the whole consumer, competition and regulatory landscape, and who can drive through reforms across other government departments
– introduce fairer energy prices to help you with your household bills
– encourage savings so more people can become financially secure
– put people at the heart of public services, for example by making complaints count.
Consumers must be at the heart of their plans
Making consumers more powerful is good for the economy and now is the time to make consumers central to the economic plan.
We found that three in 10 people now describe the economy as good, compared with just 8% two years ago. And just under half of people are happy with how much they earn.
But big changes are still needed.
What are your biggest concerns?
We found that six in 10 are worried about public spending cuts, making it the second highest area of concern, and half about the quality of public services.
More than half are worried about the value of their pension and 45% about how much savings they have.
And household costs are still high on people’s list of worries – more than half are worried about energy, fuel and food prices.
In the last Parliament, consumer issues were a high priority and, after pressure from Which?, the government took action in key areas such as banking, pensions and energy. We want to see this momentum continue.
Are you worried about your energy bills or the value of your pension? What are the issues that matter most to you?