(Belga) Inflation slowed to 10.5% year on year in the UK in December from 10.7% in November but remains at historically very high levels, fueling a cost of living crisis in the country.
Transport and in particular fuels largely contributed to the decline in prices last month, but also clothing and shoes, or even entertainment and culture, despite the end-of-year celebrations, adds the National Statistics Office (ONS ) in a report on Wednesday. On the other hand, the prices of hotels, plane tickets and restaurants increased, as did those of food and non-alcoholic beverages, which slowed down the fall in prices. “High inflation is a budget nightmare for families, destroys business investment and generates strikes, so even if it is difficult, we must stay on course to bring it down,” commented Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt in a statement. “We have a plan to halve inflation this year, reduce debt and grow the economy, but it is crucial to make the tough decisions necessary,” he insisted. Strikes are multiplying in the country in many sectors such as transport, education or health, the unions demanding wage increases in line with inflation. The government for the moment refuses to accept the demands of the strikers, claiming that it does not want to fuel a lasting vicious circle of rising prices. Opposition Labor Finance Leader Rachel Reeves lamented “13 years of lost opportunity under the Tories which have left our economy weaker and families in dire straits”. (Belga)
