Inflation numbers live: Cost of living crisis deepens as price rise hits 40-year high Business News

After inflation hit a 40-year high of 9% today, Tory MPs, including some ministers, are again pointing the finger at the Bank of England and its Governor Andrew Bailey for raising interest rates too slowly, writes the political columnist Andre Grice.

Worryingly, some senior Tories are even raising the question of whether the Bank should lose its operational independence in monetary policy, threatening the 25-year consensus since Gordon Brown ceded control of interest rates to the Bank by The politicians.

There is no time to waste to prevent the situation of people who cannot absorb the rising cost of living from getting significantly worse over the next few months, a charity has warned.

StepChange Debt Charity said the rising cost of living is one of the most common reasons people in financial difficulty give for their debts.

Among StepChange clients, the cost of living is the third most frequently cited reason for their debt.

Wider survey data commissioned from YouGov by the charity in March found that 24% of people were worried about inflation and felt they were at risk of getting into debt as a result, but would be able to cope, while 11% thought they were likely to incur debt that they could not repay.

StepChange’s director of external affairs, Richard Lane, said: “We need to see targeted support specifically aimed at households whose budgets don’t have the bandwidth to absorb higher costs – such as those on low incomes and dependent social security for all or part of their income, and those with vulnerabilities that mean they have specific needs and cannot reduce their expenses in areas such as energy or food.

“These groups are already overrepresented among those experiencing debt problems, and there is no time to waste if their financial situation is not to deteriorate drastically in the coming months.”

There could be “a few bumps to get through” before inflation stabilises, a cabinet minister has said.

International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan told an event at Bloomberg headquarters in London that countries were “facing a global battle against inflation”.

Responding to a question about inflation and the cost of living after her green trade speech, she said: “The worry we always have is that inflation tends to have two bumps.

“You have the first one that is caused by this energy spike and this immediate global uptick, but what may follow is the longer term impact and indeed by food production and particularly with the disruption in Ukraine.

“So we know we’ll probably have a few bumps to go through before we hopefully see stabilization and reduction as the energy crisis unwinds.”

Eastbourne is set to become the first council in the UK to declare a ‘cost of living emergency’ as record numbers of people in the south coast town are forced to turn to food banks to survive.

The Liberal Democrat-led local authority is expected to pass the unprecedented motion later on Wednesday in a bid to tackle the steep rise in poverty in the English seaside resort.

Adam Forest to this exclusive story:

The cost of living crisis has hit every corner of the UK, pushing families to the brink with rising food and fuel prices.

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