David Buttress, the new cost of living tsar, has indicated that he will use his position and contacts to help tackle rising food prices as well as other essentials.
The Just Eat co-founder told the BBC he would use his position to encourage old friends and colleagues to help the British people at a time of rising inflation.
Buttress will have six months in the recently announced role, but has no budget to increase spending or any ministerial powers to cut taxes, prompting industry commentators to speculate on what he can actually deliver in the unpaid role.
In an interview with the BBC he said: “People will see if I succeed or fail.”
He added that a key measure of success would be making practical interventions to get food shops and businesses to cut costs.
Buttress has been appointed as cost-of living-tsar amid a sharp increase in prices due to the Ukraine war and post Brexit food and trading issues.
However, various industry analysts point out that last year the government’s education catch-up tsar Sir Kevan Collins resigned after ministers did not commit to nearly the amount of funding he thought was necessary to fix the problem. Early speculation is that Buttress may go the same way.
Buttress told the BBC: “I don’t think I have to convince anyone. I think what I have to do is get off my backside and offer some practical things put in place around those areas [we’ve discussed] and that hit people’s real lives.
“None of us should be sat here looking around the room thinking who else can take responsibility for this.”
