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Kingdom — British inflation slowed in May to the central bank’s 2-percent target, official data showed Wednesday, boosting Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s struggling election campaign.
The Consumer Prices Index fell as expected from 2.3 percent in April, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement citing easing growth in food prices.
That follows almost three years of Britain’s above-target inflation, which last stood at 2 percent in July 2021 before surging higher in a cost-of-living crisis.
The news sets the scene for the July 4 general election which Sunak’s Conservatives are tipped to lose badly to Keir Starmer’s main opposition Labour Party, according to opinion polls.
Sunak hailed the inflation slowdown, but Labour slammed the Conservatives’ stewardship of the economy after 14 years in power.
“It’s very good news because the last few years have been really tough for everybody,” Sunak told LBC radio.
“Inflation is back to target, and that means people will start to feel the benefits and ease some of the burdens on the cost of living, and it’s because of that economic stability that we’ve restored.
