Labour is staring down the barrel of an inflation crisis

With job vacancies falling, and with GDP contracting, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves might have assumed that her final week before Christmas could not get any worse. Unfortunately, she will have been disappointed. We learned today that inflation is now rising sharply again, with the Office For National Statistics reporting that the rate has risen to 2.6 per cent – the highest level for eight months. The real problem, however, is this. It is going to get a lot worse over the next few months – and the Chancellor will only have herself to blame.

In response to today’s inflation data, Reeves tried to maintain that the figures were ‘broadly in line’ with other countries, and insisted that she was 'taking action to address the ongoing cost of living challenge', whatever the heck that might mean.