The fall in inflation is a boost for Sunak – but it leaves him no wriggle room

While economic recovery may be on the horizon, writes Andrew Grice, my worry is whether this is enough to make people think the PM has fulfilled his promise

There are no soft options for Sunak, only hard choices (PA)

Today’s bigger than expected fall in inflation is welcome news, but Rishi Sunak cannot celebrate – for there is a growing recognition among ministers that inflation has blown a hole in his general election strategy.

First the good news: the consumer prices index dropped from 8.7 per cent in May to 7.9 per cent in June, due largely to the falling cost of petrol and diesel. Core inflation, which excludes items such as food and fuel, dropped from 7.1 per cent to 6.9 per cent, though it is still sticky, and food price inflation remains high at 17.3 per cent.

Sunak now has a better chance of delivering his pledge in January to halve inflation by the end of this year, though government officials say it will be “tight”.