Well done for bringing down inflation, Rishi – now for the hard bit

As the inflation rate shrinks by half, the PM has made good on one of his ‘five priorities’ for the year. Yes, he got lucky, writes James Moore, but he deserves some credit, too

UK inflation fell in October to 4.6 per cent, its lowest level for two years (Alamy/PA)

At least Rishi Sunak has won one of his big gambles this week. Not the reshuffle – time will tell on that.

October’s inflation rate tumbled to 4.6 per cent, down from 6.7 per cent the previous month. Sunak’s promise, to halve the rate by the end of the year, had thus been met – early.

The City had expected good news, but not that good: per the consensus, compiled by Reuters, it had pencilled in 4.8 per cent. Rather, it’s now at the lowest level since October 2021.