PM boasts he is reducing inflation – 5 hours after figures present it went up
Rishi Sunak boasted at PMQs the Conservatives are reducing inflation – simply 5 hours after official figures confirmed the speed unexpectedly rose.
In a fiery change with Keir Starmer the under-fire PM tried to congratulate himself over the economic system and accused the Labour of eager to “talk the country down”.
The Tory chief advised MPs: “While he talks the country down let me update him on what’s actually been happening in the past week – inflation more than halved from 11% to 4%, real wages rising for the fifth month in a row. Last week rates started falling and millions of people started benefitted from a tax cut.”
Mr Sunak additionally sought to disown the 11% fee of inflation when he “got this job” as PM in October 2022 – regardless of the Bank of England warning it might hit the sky-high fee in June of the identical 12 months when he was Chancellor.
His remarks got here simply hours after figures confirmed a shock rise within the UK’s inflation for the primary time in virtually a 12 months. The Office for National Statistics mentioned the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation fee stood at 4% within the 12 months to December – up from the three.9% fee recorded in November.
CPI inflation is a measure of how the worth of products and companies have modified over time. But regardless that inflation has come down from its peak of 11.1%, costs are usually not falling in shops – they’re nonetheless going up, simply at a barely slower fee than earlier than.
The Labour MP Peter Dowd additionally provoked laughter within the Commons as he requested Mr Sunak at PMQs on Wednesday: “The Prime Minister has been very keen to take credit for falling inflation in previous months, will he now take responsibility for today’s rise?”
In response, Mr Sunak mentioned: “Inflation was over 11% when I got this job. Inflation today is 4%… all countries have seen a mild tick-up in December. But the crucial thing is inflation has been more than halved, delivered ahead of schedule, and that is having enormous benefit”.
Earlier Chancellor Jeremy Hunt insisted that the Government’s “plan is working”. He mentioned: “As we have seen in the US, France and Germany, inflation does not fall in a straight line, but our plan is working and we should stick to it.” He mentioned the inflation threat posed by the Red Sea disaster was one of many causes for the UK-US army strikes towards Houthi targets, as fears develop that it might push up the price of oil, fuel and items.
But Rachel Reeves mentioned: “Today’s rise in inflation is yet more bad news, with the average family already set to be £12,000 worse off under Rishi Sunak’s tax plan.” The Shadow Chancellor added: “Britain cannot afford another five years of economic failure under the Conservatives. It’s time for change”.
