Fewer jobs. Higher prices. That’s Starmer’s Britain.
Starmer promised to cut household energy bills. Instead, costs across the board are still rising.
📈 UK Inflation Rises to 3.8% — Highest Since January 2024
Starmer promised to cut household energy bills. Instead, costs across the board are still rising.
You can feel it, can’t you?
The weekly shop creeping higher. The price of flights jumping just as the school holidays start. Petrol ticking up again at the pumps.
The Office for National Statistics confirmed it today: UK inflation rose again in July, with CPI at 3.8% and CPIH (which includes housing costs) at 4.2%. That’s the highest since January. Food inflation is climbing at 4.9%, airfares are up 30% in a month, and eating out is getting more expensive too.
🚨 What’s driving it?
Food: Up 4.9% year-on-year, the fourth monthly rise in a row.
Transport: Airfares jumped 30% in July, while petrol and diesel prices ticked up.
Restaurants & hotels: Higher overnight stays and meals out.
Housing: The only relief — housing costs slowed, with rents and owner-occupiers’ housing costs easing slightly.
But the good news on housing was outweighed by the bad news elsewhere.
🌍 International comparison
And here’s the kicker. The UK is falling behind our neighbours:
France: 0.9%
Germany: 1.8%
UK: 3.8%
Both France and Germany are below the Bank of England’s 2% target, while Britain is still nearly double it.
⚖️ What it means politically
Keir Starmer pledged to cut household energy bills. Instead, inflation is going up — and faster here than across Europe.
Rachel Reeves has staked her credibility on economic “stability,” but these numbers tell a different story. With the economy already shrinking and jobs falling, today’s rise in inflation means:
Higher costs of living persisting — families are still squeezed on food, transport and everyday expenses.
Comparisons with Europe looking worse — France and Germany show it doesn’t have to be this way.
The government’s credibility hit — the “plan is working” line doesn’t wash when your food bill says otherwise.
And remember — ministers continue to gaslight the public. Just last week, Lisa Nandy claimed Labour are lowering energy bills. In reality, bills today are higher than they were when Labour took the keys to Number 10.
👨👩👧 What it means for the public
For households, it’s simple:
The weekly shop costs more.
Holidays cost more.
Eating out costs more.
Even as wages are currently rising faster than inflation on paper, pay packets don’t feel bigger when everyday costs keep climbing.
And there’s a wider risk: rising inflation means workers will push for even higher wage settlements, which in turn feed through to higher government expenditure on public sector pay and pensions. With Labour already borrowing heavily, this risks another spiral — more borrowing to fund higher costs, driven by their failure to control inflation.
💬 Final thought
Inflation may not be back at the double-digit highs of 2022, but the trend is going the wrong way. Other countries are getting it under control — Britain is not.
Starmer promised to cut household energy bills. Instead, families face rising costs everywhere — and government borrowing is set to rise with them.
📌 Related reading
If you missed last week’s post, I dug into the latest payroll numbers showing six months of job losses in a row under Labour’s jobs tax:
👉 Payroll Jobs Keep Falling: Labour’s Jobs Tax is Biting
Taken together, the story is clear:
Jobs are falling
Inflation is rising
Families are paying the price