Tories have left people worse off, says Labour ahead of new inflation data

The Tories will still have left households significantly worse off even if official figures this week confirm a slowdown in inflation, Labour has said.

It comes as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is expected to reveal Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation of 6.7% for July, down from 7.9% in the previous month.

Rishi Sunak on Tuesday claimed that there is “light at the end of the tunnel”, but Labour accused the Prime Minister of overseeing a £350 increase in monthly bills for the average household since 2021/22.

Ahead of the release of the July data, the opposition said that even if inflation does drop families will be paying £82 more a week on the cost of living than in 2021/22.

We’ve had a decade of low growth, low pay and high taxes. Now families are paying the price of the Conservatives’ cost-of-living crisis with higher bills and prices in the shops

The party said weekly spending on items such as food, transport and fuel bills is forecast to have risen from £529 in 2021/22 to £611 today.

Labour said that even if Mr Sunak meets his target to halve inflation, families will still be hundreds of pounds worse off a month than two years ago.

Shadow economic secretary Tulip Siddiq said: “Families in Britain are worse off because of 13 years of economic chaos and incompetence under the Conservatives.

“We’ve had a decade of low growth, low pay and high taxes. Now families are paying the price of the Conservatives’ cost-of-living crisis with higher bills and prices in the shops.

“If Labour were in power today, we would introduce a proper windfall tax on the huge profits the oil and gas giants are making to help families with the cost of living.

“Labour’s plan to build a strong economy will boost growth, increase wages and bring down bills so working people are better off.”