A London Assembly member is calling on mayor Boris Johnson to make businesses pay the London Living Wage following a report on the cost of living. 

Research conducted by Loughborough University in conjunction with poverty charity the Trust for London, found a over a third of Londonders earn less than what is needed to live on in the capital. 

Rising costs of housing, public transport and childcare means it costs betweeen 18 and 47 per cent more to live in London. 

In Waltham Forest, it costs a single working-age adult 35 per cent more to live in the borough, compared with the rest of the UK.

The minimum income standard (MIS) or weekly budget calculated for a single adult is £279, but researchers found you need at least £376 for an acceptable standard of living in Waltham Forest.   

For pensioners, single parents with one child or couples with two children, the cost of living in the borough is between 18 and 21 per cent more than outside of London.  

Assembly member for Waltham Forest, Jennette Arnold OBE, said: "Runaway housing and childcare costs now mean well over a third of London families, including residents in Waltham Forest earn less than they need to live on in the capital.

"The Mayor needs to recognise the strain the rocketing cost of living has placed on local residents.

"What nobody wants to see is a London where only the rich can afford to live.

"This utterly shocking report shows that far more needs to be done to encourage employers to pay a Living Wage and bring down the cost of housing."