The RPI trap: how Sajid Javid quietly consigned younger workers to years of lower pay

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 4: Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid leaves 11 Downing Street on September 4, 2019 in London, England. Last night the Rebel Alliance, including 21 Conservative MPs, won a vote that allows them to take charge of the Parliament order paper today, allowing them to debate a bill to block a no deal Brexit. The Prime Minister has withdrawn the whip from the 21 rebels and they face de-selection at the next General Election. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

You say CPI, I say RPI, let’s call the whole thing off: this was the gist of the letter from Sajid Javid to the chair of the UK Statistics Authority, Sir David Norgrove, yesterday morning. The UKSA had been in discussion with the government on moving to a single measure of inflation, following a seven-month inquiry by the Lords Economic Affairs Committee, but Javid responded that to do so “could be damaging to the economy”, and that the government would not be revisiting the subject until 2030.

Javid’s letter cast the issue as a technical matter of secondary importance. “I want to ensure that the Treasury… has the time and space to focus on delivering Brexit,” he wrote.