The GDP statistics are out and it's all fine. Our economy is now going strong and the future looks bright. We are 2.5% below pre-recession peak and have recovered two-thirds of the economic loss since 2008. It is the construction industry, which grew by 2.5%, that seems to have led the 0.8% GDP growth, a figure that may still be revised to 1%.

But hang on, what do these statistics actually mean for hard-working people? If the economy is going so well, why is it that the use of food banks has gone up by 170% over the past 12 months? Why is it that an estimated five million people in the UK are currently living in fuel poverty?

The government may be content to point at the GDP growth of 0.8% and state how wonderful their plan for the economy is working, but the simple truth is the working class are feeling as worse off as ever. The statistics do not match the reality of many in this country. What is truly awful is not just the reality of the situation for many people, but the hopelessness in which they feel. Yes, people are struggling to pay the bills but what in some ways really hurts is the feeling that it will not be getting easier any time soon, there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

During hard times the poor and vulnerable get not only squeezed, but squashed. When the economy picks up again they still get squashed as the rich benefit. Living costs continue to rise and wages stagnate, ensuring those at the poorer end of society struggle. As the economy improves, business owners and those at the top will harvest the rewards of profit that their employees worked hard for. Economic growth is of course welcome, but the government's view that wealth will trickle down from the top is naive at best and cruel at worst.

The current free-market capitalist state in which we find ourselves ensures that wealth and power remains with an elite few while many millions more struggle on in a never-ending battle for survival. People who work hard do not expect the earth – they just want to know that when the bills come at the end of the month they don't have to turn to their overdraft or to payday lenders.

What people up and down this country really care about is the cost of living. Ed Miliband has set the agenda for energy bills, an area people are concerned about. Four of the big six energy companies have announced price rises in recent weeks, adding pressure to household budgets over the coming winter. An estimated 5 million people in the UK are currently living in fuel poverty, that is to say they spend more than 10% of their income on heating their homes – in the EU only Estonia is worse for those living in fuel poverty.

Economic growth is always to be welcomed but the statistics do not play out the reality for many hard-working, decent families throughout the UK. Until the working class, the bread and butter of this country, feel the benefits, to them at least, these figures are meaningless.