Yet more bad news over falling living standards – so what is the government’s plan now?

The chancellor seems to be stuck in reactive mode, unwilling to take the reins, writes Ben Chapman

Rishi Sunak at the British Chamber of Commerce’s annual global conference on Thursday (PA)

We are now officially in the most sustained period of falling living standards on record. And this is just the beginning.

When adjusted for the impact of rising prices, household disposable incomes fell 0.2 per cent between January and March, rounding off a full year of decline.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics confirm that wages failed to keep pace with inflation for four quarters in a row. That’s before April’s energy price hike and a jump in consumer price inflation to 9 per cent.