Inflation is economic herpes and it usually fatally damages governments so it was no surprise given recent events to see Jeremy Hunt publicly criticise the Bank of England over the inflation crisis but if this is a plan to help the government in the polls then it is unlikely to work and save Sunak as we can see in the poll above.

The public aren’t stupid, if Sunak wants to take the credit for halving inflation then he is likely to earn the blame him if inflation is high. I can remember when Sunak as Chancellor used to boast about inflation busting pay rises in 2021 when some of us were worried about the inflationary impact of those pay rises.

Gordon Brown tried to blame America for the impacts of the Great Financial Crisis but again the public remembered his rhetoric and his actions beforehand, such as the disastrous financial services regulatory system he introduced that left the UK buggered in 2007 onwards but his blame shifting strategy didn’t help him losing the 2010 general election.

The longer inflation remains high then so do interest rates which is bad for the Tories.

TSE

PS – The government sets the mandate for the Bank of England’s inflation target, a farsighted government and Chancellor should have spotted the looming inflationary tempest and adjusted the mandate. Sunak’s dropped the ball on that but so did all four of the men who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in 2022.