It’s no surprise the number one issue brought up on the doorstep by voters this election is the cost of living.
If anything is guaranteed to make people poorer it is inflation. Their salaries and pensions are eaten away by rising food, energy and petrol prices.
But Rishi Sunak promised to crack this pernicious problem. And true to his word, he’s succeeded. The Consumer Prices Index has fallen to the Bank of England‘s 2 per cent target for the first time since July 2021.
Given that inflation was an eye-watering 11.1 per cent when he became Prime Minister, this is no mean feat.
Of course, prices are still considerably higher than three years ago. But the reality is inflation rocketed across the world as a result of the pandemic and then the war in Ukraine.
Critics of the Government were quick to blame ministers, which was deeply unfair. Now those same sneering opponents give them no credit for bringing it back down.
Yet Mr Sunak played his part by resisting ludicrous union pay demands and keeping a lid on public spending.
The Bank may fear being seen to act politically during an election, but it should ignore convention and cut interest rates.
This would be a boost for mortgage-holders, businesses and the wider economy.
The tragedy for Mr Sunak is that by gambling on an early election, which he is hot favourite to lose, Labour reaps the rewards when borrowing costs eventually tumble.
Sir Keir’s class war
Labour’s evasiveness over who it considers to be ‘working people’ exposes the dishonesty underpinning its tax agenda.
Its manifesto committed to not raise taxes on workers. But we are in the dark as to how exactly the party defines this group.
Sir Keir Starmer says it does not include those with enough savings to cover household emergencies. To Wes Streeting, it’s not anyone earning over £50,000. Rachel Reeves – likely to be chancellor in 15 days – seems unable to clear up the confusion.
What we do know is that if Labour wins power, this opens the door to unexpected tax rises for millions of families and pensioners to fund a reckless spending splurge.
Being dismissed as a ‘non-worker’ is a slap in the face to anyone who wants to get on in life – or who has aspiration for their children.
Saving was once regarded as a virtue – enabling people to live within their means, put aside money for a rainy day and invest for their future. To Labour, it seems, thrift is just a target for exploitation.
All our public services rely on workers having ambition. If they are diligent, they move through the salary ranks, making a bigger contribution to the Exchequer.
You might have thought the divisive ‘up the workers, down with the bosses’ mentality went out with the 1970s. This class war nonsense shows it is still alive and well in Labour’s resentful neo-socialist ranks.
Axis of Evil reborn
Nothing symbolises Russia’s isolation on the world stage more strikingly than Vladimir Putin’s state visit to North Korea.
In exchange for missiles, artillery shells and possibly troops to help fight his brutal war, Putin will supply the pariah state with oil, grain and maybe even nuclear technology.
This new pact is perilous for Britain and our allies as a new axis of autocratic countries, including Iran and China, gains strength.
Tyrants want to overthrow the liberal order, which is why we and Nato must spend much more on defence. We cannot even hint that the West might wave the white flag.