When he promised in January to halve galloping inflation by the end of this year, Rishi Sunak seemed to be shooting at an open goal.
At the time, prices were rising by a punishing 10.6 per cent. But with the shockwaves from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine diminishing, the Bank of England was predicting inflation would plunge to 3.9 per cent by December.
Then the Prime Minister could claim credit for resolving the cost of living crunch which has caused immense pain for households, while taking a huge stride towards resuscitating the economy before the next election.
Today, his confidence looks increasingly misplaced. An open goal is in danger of turning into an own goal.
The latest inflation data is shocking. Price rises are being tamed across the West, yet they remain obstinately unchanged in Britain at 8.7 per cent.
When he promised in January to halve galloping inflation by the end of this year, Rishi Sunak seemed to be shooting at an open goal
As a result, the bad news keeps coming. Today, the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee will almost certainly raise interest rates again. The only question is, by how much?
Whatever the answer, the 2.5million whose mortgages are soon up for renewal will be worse off by hundreds of pounds a month.
Inflation is a curse – the enemy of prosperity, growth and savings, and the destroyer of governments.
Britain’s central bank must do all it can to crush it. The failure to rein in rampant inflation is down to the lamentable performance of Bank governor Andrew Bailey, who failed to act decisively on interest rates when the problem first surfaced. In the private sector, he would surely be asked to clear his desk.
Even so, warnings should be blaring in Downing Street. Aggrieved mortgage borrowers will inevitably blame the Government, not Mr Bailey, for their woes.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is right to strong-arm banks to be more accommodating to those struggling to pay home loans, in a bid to avoid needless repossessions.
But there are other levers the Government could pull to help ease inflation.
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Ministers could shelve their obsession with Net Zero, which means we have some of the dearest energy on earth. They must find the willpower to slash public spending, especially the bloated welfare state.
So appalling are the nation’s finances that economists warn pre-election tax cuts are ‘no longer feasible’.
If that’s the case, reasons to vote Conservative will soon be more difficult to find than a needle in a haystack.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt leaves the UK Covid-19 Inquiry at Dorland House in London
In some ways, Sir Keir Starmer is the Tories’ biggest hope. Every time Labour’s leader opens his mouth he proves himself more unfit to be PM.
But unless there is respite for homeowners, it will be difficult for the Conservatives to run an election campaign condemning Labour’s economic mismanagement.
Cost of incompetence
AS it plunged into administration, the bosses of doomed SNP creation Circularity Scotland had a priority – making sure its bosses could still rake in big salaries.
They pleaded for a bailout of more than £3million so that part-time directors could continue to be paid £23,000 a month.
Meanwhile, the rest of the company’s 66 employees have been sent home and still don’t know if they will receive any wages for working this month.
The collapse of the Deposit Return Scheme has led to a bill of up to £9million for the taxpayer – at least half of which will definitely not be clawed back.
A straightforward recycling venture has proved beyond the capability of Green minister Lorna Slater and her SNP colleagues. It is shameful that the public purse will pay such a heavy price for their incompetence.
