The one thing people really don’t like doing is paying more – for anything. Shelling out a few extra quid on a weekly shop or to buy some clothes sticks in the craw.
But that is exactly what Rachel Reeves has allowed to happen since she became Chancellor 14 months ago. When she triumphantly strode into the Treasury on July 5th last year inflation – the rate of increase in prices – was at 2%.
Now it’s almost twice as much at 3.8% and there are real fears it could increase further.
Food and drink inflation is predicted to soar to 5.7% in December, hitting millions of families in the pocket in the run-up to Christmas.
A 500g pack of lean beef mince has jumped from £3.79 at the start of the year to more than £5 in most major UK supermarkets.
Sugar prices are up 56%, cheese by 31% and flour by 19%, while the cost of whole milk has shot up by 48%.
The Food and Drink Federation has said that prices are rising faster than anything in recent decades.
UK food inflation has been higher than other European countries in recent months, including France, Germany and Spain.
This indicates that domestic policies have played a key part, not just global factors.
Today’s figures mean this is the eleventh consecutive month inflation has exceeded the Bank of England’s 2% target.
The Bank is expected to keep interest rates at 4% tomorrow, despite inflationary pressures.
The Tories argue that the blame lays squarely on Labour’s, Rachel Reeves’ in particular, shoulders.
Her decision to tax jobs and ramp up borrowing is pushing up costs and stoking inflation – making everyday essentials more expensive.
With borrowing costs hitting a 27-year high, working people and businesses are bracing for even more tax rises in the Budget on November 26.
This, coupled with a rise in the cost of living is not the kind of Christmas present most people have in mind.
