The high cost of living is still biting the UK. Many don't think the election will change anything

LONDON (AP) — Dominic Watters watches his gas and electricity meter like a hawk. He topped it up a few days ago, but now there’s just 1.85 pounds ($2.40) of credit left. That may determine what kind of dinner he and his teen daughter get tonight, he says.

Watters, a campaigner for better access to nutritious food, is a single dad in Canterbury in southern England who relies on government welfare. He knows microwave meals don’t compare to home-cooked dinners, but sometimes he simply cannot afford to use the gas stove or oven.

“It’s become more and more of a struggle, especially for single parents on benefits,” he said. “It leaves you feeling stranded. It doesn’t allow you enough to pay for fresh fruit and vegetables, and also to pay for the gas and electric to cook the food.”

Since calling a general election for July 4, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been at pains to repeat a key message on the campaign trail: The economy is turning a corner. Inflation is down. Things are looking up.