Today should have been a good day for Rishi Sunak. With inflation down to 4.6%, the UK government is all but guaranteed to meet its major pledge to halve inflation by the end of the year.
Yet this win on the cost of living has been completely overshadowed by the Rwanda plan and events in the Middle East at PMQs today.
The prime minister squeezed in a reference in his opening remarks, but it’s not a clear win for him because it opens up other questions about the government’s management of the economy, chiefly on taxation.
To the dismay of many in the party, the government has been reluctant to lower taxes while inflation is running high.
We got a glimpse of the frustration here from Greg Smith, MP for Buckingham, who asked Mr Sunak if he believed the tax burden was fair, with police, nurses and teachers all now paying the higher rate of tax because of the government’s decision to freeze tax thresholds, which is dragging people into higher tax bracket.
The tax burden is at a post-war high, and Tory MPs aren’t happy about it.
The frustration within the Conservative Party is simmering and is ready to flare up at any moment.
There will be one in the coming weeks when the chancellor unveils his autumn statement. Jeremy Hunt is likely to resist any major giveaways, so you can expect more infighting about the Conservative Party’s position on taxation.
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