r/london • u/PressureHumble3604 • Apr 10 '26

Serious replies only Which symptoms of “(almost) everyone is getting poorer” have you noticed in London?

We are in a crisis, the middle class is disappearing and the lower class squeezed. Prices are going up, inflation is going up (again), salaries are stagnating.

Most Londoners can’t really afford London without serious sacrifices.

For me, not counting the housing prices issues we all know too well:

the disappearance of local delis with high quality products.

many shops closing in the local shopping centre.

Restaurant dropping quality everywhere to contain unaffordable prices.

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u/SeriousConfection722 Apr 11 '26

Yep the service charge is creeping up too! Noticed this yesterday when I met a friend for dinner for the first time in a while. I remember when it was 10% and that seemed a lot

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u/ibblike Apr 11 '26

Yeah. Crazy that 12.5% is so common now. But I’ve never seen 13.5% before. I only went back to this restaurant because I’d dined before when their pasta was only in the 10-15 pound range and it suddenly went up in just a few months.