Make no mistake, the government shares in the responsibility for sky-high inflation

We need more government action to address some of the issues contributing to soaring prices, writes James Moore. But will it listen?

The poorest have faced the largest rise in inflation, according to the Office for National Statistics (PA Wire)

Rising inflation is still haunting Britain. The latest update from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed consumer price inflation (CPI) shot up to 11.1 per cent for the 12 months to October.

That compares to last month’s figure of 10.1 per cent and the Reuters consensus forecast of 10.7.

The numbers have delivered a blow to hopes, quietly expressed, that price rises in the UK may have reached their peak – as the chancellor Jeremy Hunt put the finishing touches to a fiscal statement that looks set to clobber us with a brutal combination of tax rises and spending cuts. Hunt has spoken of protecting the most vulnerable people. He needs to be as good as his word on that front because the current economic horror show is disproportionately hitting them.