Jeremy Hunt will urge consumer watchdogs to force down prices in summit this week – as retailers claim long-term contracts are stopping them passing on fall in costs
Jeremy Hunt will urge consumer watchdogs to help struggling Brits force down prices in a summit this week.
The Chancellor is due to meet regulators in the energy, water and telecoms sectors on Wednesday to discuss price hikes.
He is also set to back a Competition and Markets Authority probe into food prices, amid concerns some companies are fuelling rampant inflation by trying to rebuild profit margins.
However, utility companies and supermarkets have insisted that many costs are coming down slowly because of long-term contracts.
Ministers are scrambling to find ways of easing the pressure on households, as interest rates soar to control inflation. Rishi Sunak used an interview yesterday to beg the public to ‘hold our nerve’.
Tories fear the pain being heaped on homeowners will dominate the run-in to the general election next year. Analysis suggests that voters in London and the South East who took typical mortgages in 2020-21 will be at least £5,000 worse off.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is due to meet regulators in the energy, water and telecoms sectors on Wednesday to discuss price hikes
Mortgage misery is already feeding through in the polls, with research published over the weekend showing the Conservatives slumping between 18 and 25 points behind Labour
Shock figures last week showed headline CPI inflation still not dropping – and core inflation actually rising
The Bank of England hiked interest rates by another 0.5 percentage points last week
There are mounting signs that the misery is already feeding through, with polls over the weekend showing the Conservatives slumping between 18 and 25 points behind Keir Starmer’s party.
YouGov research put the Tories on just 22 per cent, down two from last week, while Labour was up four on 47 per cent.
Opinium estimated that Sir Keir’s advantage had increased by six in a fortnight to 18 points, with Mr Sunak’s personal ratings they lowest the firm has ever detected at minus 23.
Meanwhile, a ConservativeHome panel of members suggests that just 13 per cent are expecting the party to win a majority at the next election.
A Treasury source told the Times of the meeting this week: ‘Wholesale costs are rapidly falling, but consumer prices aren’t falling as fast.
‘A lot of that delay is normal as companies are locked into long-term contracts, but the Chancellor wants to see if there’s a problem beyond that.’
Mr Hunt will also maintain pressure on banks to increase interest rates for savers, as people putting aside money rather than spending it could help cool inflation.
Interviewed on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, the PM urged homeowners being crippled by soaring interest rates to recognise that inflation is ‘the enemy’.
He said he was taking the difficult decisions to ease surging prices and get the economy back on track – and ‘totally supported’ drastic action by the Bank of England.
Mr Sunak also delivered a stark warning to unions that he would not sign off big pay rises for the public sector this year.
Rishi Sunak used an interview yesterday to beg the public to ‘hold our nerve’
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