Inflation soared to an eye-watering 40-year high today with fears things are only going to get worse as Rishi Sunak faces massive pressure to come up with cost-of-living help.
The headline CPI rate rose to 9 per cent in April – up from 7 per cent in March and the peak since 1982, when Margaret Thatcher was PM, the Falklands War was about to start, and unemployment was running at three million.
The Bank of England expects the annual rate will get even worse, peaking at 10.25 per cent during the final quarter of the year amid biggest squeeze on incomes since records began in the 1950s. That would be more than five times its 2 per cent target.
The Chancellor insisted that ‘countries around the world are dealing with rising inflation’, and he ‘stands ready’ to offer further support to Britons – while stressing that he cannot ‘protect people completely’ from pain.
But there are mounting signs of splits in Cabinet over how to respond, with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss suggesting more…
