THE Chief Secretary to the Treasury has denied that today’s inflation figures show that they are falling more slowly than planned.
Asked if inflation was decreasing much more slowly than she would have liked, Laura Trott said: “No, that’s not true. I mean, compared to the forecast for a little while ago, this is coming down a lot faster, but we know that inflation doesn’t necessarily fall in a straight line.
“This is very good news that it’s come down today from 3.4% to 3.2%. And I should say that this hasn’t happened by accident.
“When the PM took office a year and a bit ago, inflation was at 11%, food inflation was at nearly 20%. And thanks to the work of the Government and the Bank of England, we’ve now got it down.”
Speaking to Eamonn Holmes and Isabel Webster on GB News, she continued: “You should listen to the IMF who praised our decisive and responsible action in bringing inflation down.
“You should look at the OBR who said about the most recent budget that it was deflationary for this year. And this is something that really does require the Bank of England and the Government working together.
“And because we’ve done that, because the plan is working, the economy is now turning a corner.”
Asked about interest rates and the IMF downgrading it growth forecast for the UK, she said: “High interest rates do have an impact on growth. That is why it’s so important that we get inflation down and open the door for those interest rates to fall.
“All countries pretty much across the board have been downgraded and the G7 apart from the US, and we will be the fastest growing European economy next year.”
