London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

How much more does a pint cost in London? How inflation is affecting different parts of the UK

How much more does a pint cost in London? How inflation is affecting different parts of the UK

Inflation is now at 9.4%, but depending on what you buy and where you live, your personal inflation rate will be different. Sky News analysis of the latest ONS data shows that the cost of living crisis is hitting people harder in different parts of the country.

Across the country in June, inflation is at its highest rate in 40 years, but Sky News analysis of the latest ONS figures shows that shoppers in London are facing price rises that double those seen in Yorkshire.

As well as London, prices in Wales and Northern Ireland have risen by more than 10% compared with last June, higher than the headline national inflation figure of 9.4%.


Food prices have increased by less than services overall, and both significantly less than goods, but there is still a clear divide in how prices of different types of items are rising in different nations and regions of the UK.


The ONS measures inflation by keeping a record of the prices of 730 foods, goods and services that are intended to be representative of what British consumers spend their money on. The list, known as "the shopping basket", is updated every year so it remains relevant.

Part of the way they keep track of price changes is by visiting stores around the UK and recording prices seen on the shelves, which are then published in full, including a weighting based on the type of shop and how representative the item is. For example the price of a major brand seen in lots of shops might be given more weight than an own-brand version of the same item.

The figures that we have analysed only cover items found in store, while the ONS also records a proportion of prices online and over the phone.

Significant costs like petrol, energy and housing are also excluded from the release, so figures are not directly comparable to the headline ONS inflation figure. They do however give an insight to the different cost-of-living experiences that people face in different parts of the UK.

'Personal spending habits really matter'


It does not necessarily mean that people in places where prices have risen fastest will end up worse off.

Jack Leslie, a senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, who specialises in inflation and wealth inequality, said that "personal and local spending patterns really matter."

"If you're someone who lives in a small, energy-efficient flat in London who doesn't own a car, your personal inflation level is going to be hugely lower than someone who is living in a leaky mansion in the highlands of Scotland, because the energy price cap has gone up and you have to drive loads.

"There has been a longer-term trend that housing and other living costs have increased in areas where wages are highest, so there are smaller living standards gaps between nations and regions than might appear on the surface. These figures feed in to that.

"But it's not a good news story that these gaps are closing, it's just that some places are doing worse than others. Everywhere is going to be hit really hard by the cost of living crisis. No one can escape it. Peoples' real incomes are falling and that is causing a lot of stress and difficulty and potentially pushing people into poverty."

Figures released by HMRC on Tuesday show that while average wages have risen across the UK, prices have risen faster on the whole.


People still earn more in London than other parts of the country, £2,556 per month compared with a UK average of £2,108 and less than £2,000 across the north of England, the midlands, the southwest and Northern Ireland.

But lower wage growth and higher living costs mean that there is not the same gap when it comes to living standards.

How much more is a pint in different parts of the country?


Our analysis also shows the range of prices of certain items in different nations and regions.

While there is only a five pence difference between the average price of milk in the cheapest part of the country compared with the most expensive (£1.28 for four pints of whole milk in the northwest vs £1.33 in the northeast), there are starker differences when it comes to things like alcohol.

A pint of draught bitter will set you back £2.89 in the northwest, on average, but £1.50 more in London. It's a similar story for wine and lager, while the cheapest whisky - perhaps unsurprisingly - is in Scotland.


Mr Leslie says that regional differences in hospitality costs usually reflect wage differences: "A big chunk of the cost of eating out would come from the cost of employing the chef, the waiters and whoever else works there."

Other factors that make a difference to price changes at a local level include the amount of produce that is imported vs that which is made or grown locally, and the types of shops people are used to using.

Mr Leslie says that during the pandemic "people became less willing to go to the big supermarket, and there was more demand for local corner shops", particularly in built-up areas.

He added: "I would expect imported products to have risen in price faster than non-imported, because of disruption to supply chains and exchange rates."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×