British prices on the rise as inflation soars toward 40 year high – By Danica Kirka and Jill Lawless (Associated Press) / Oct 19, 2022
Inflation in the U.K. hit a 40-year high as food prices rose by 14.6% so far this year, the fastest increase seen since 1980. An ill-fated package of tax cuts that roiled financial markets has been ditched, but a difficult winter is ahead, says Treasury chief.
British food prices rose at the fastest pace since 1980 last month, driving inflation back to a 40-year high and heaping pressure on the embattled government to balance the books without gutting help for the nation’s poorest residents.
Food prices jumped 14.6% in the year through September, led by the soaring cost of staples such as meat, bread, milk, and eggs, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday. That pushed consumer price inflation back to 10.1%, the highest since early 1982 and equal to the level last reached in July.
The figures immediately fueled demands that the government do more to help families and retirees as it struggles to regain credibility after an ill-fated package of tax cuts roiled financial markets. Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt ditched the package after he took office last week, but he has warned that this will be a difficult winter and spending reductions also will be needed.
Glenn Sanderson, head teacher at St. Aidan’s Catholic Academy in Sunderland, said schools across the country are finding it difficult to feed needy children, with many diverting money from textbooks and classroom teaching to subsidize meal programs. The suggestion of government budget cuts in this environment is “appalling,” he said.
