The UK’s rate of inflation climbed to 9.4 per cent in May and is expected to reach 11 per cent later this year, according to the Office for National Statistics. With an energy crisis, a tight labour market and mass industrial action, Britain’s economy is starting to bear an uncomfortable resemblance to the state it was in before it joined the EU in 1974.
Brexit is, of course, only a factor in this situation. Inflation is affecting most major economies and is caused primarily by the pandemic, which disrupted both the supply of and demand for goods, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has put further pressure on energy and food prices. But the UK is an outlier, with the highest inflation rate in the G7, a situation forecast to remain the case until at least 2024.
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