Labour is calling for an emergency budget to bring forward more measures to tackle the cost of living crisis.

Surges in fuel, energy and food prices are hitting people’s pockets, with inflation running at a 30-year high.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told the BBC’s Sunday Morning show the government’s response had been “woeful” and demanded further measures like a windfall tax on energy firms.

A Downing Street source said the PM was working to ease the burden on families.

They said the PM was also focused on growing the economy, adding the Queen’s Speech, where the government outlines its future policies, was coming up and these issues were “utterly central to what the government is trying to do”.

The SNP called for an emergency budget earlier this month, saying the Tories had ignored the cost of living crisis “brewing under its watch”.

The party’s Treasury spokeswoman, Alison Thewliss, said: “Warm words now won’t heat up homes or food – only action will.

“The chancellor must immediately return to Parliament with an emergency budget that finally puts money into people’s pockets.”

Britons want more money spent on public services and are happy to pay for it, according to a report on social attitudes.

A study by The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) out today found that 48% of people interviewed wanted higher taxes to pay for more spending on health, education and social benefits. This is the highest level for more than a decade.

The figures showed 44% wanted tax levels to stay the same and 4% would like to see taxes cut. Despite the recent swing today’s results have still not reached the heights of the 1990s when six in ten favoured more spending.

The report stated: “The story told by NatCen’s report is of a country expecting more from the state.

“There are clear signs of increased support for a government that is more generous with its spending and a growing public willingness to pay for it.”