Where Data Tells the Story
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UK inflation fell to 3% in the year to January 2026, down from December’s 3.4%, as food and fuel costs eased, the Office for National Statistics announced last week.
The drop, driven by lower prices for bread, cereal, and petrol, was forecast by economists and continues the dramatic descent from the cost-of-living crisis that peaked in 2022.
But the 37-year chart of UK consumer price inflation above reveals an uncomfortable truth.
Today’s 3% figure, widely celebrated as progress, is actually higher than almost every single month from 2010 to 2020. What now counts as good news would have been cause for concern just a decade ago