Fear Not, Rishi Sunak Is ‘Totally, 100% On It’ In Battle Against Inflation

Rishi Sunak has attempted to project calm in the fight against stubbornly high inflation by insisting he is “totally, 100% on it”.

The prime minister was speaking to workers at a warehouse in Dartford as the Bank of England raised interest rates for the 13th month in a row, a day after data showed the downward trajectory of inflation has stalled.

The base rate hike to 5% will cause misery for homeowners who have to refinance their mortgages in the coming months, and raised fears that the British economy is heading for a recession.

But multi-millionaire Sunak, who as the richest MP in parliament probably doesn’t have a home loan, offered words of reassurance as he literally rolled up his sleeves to address Ikea staff.

He said: “I’m here to tell you that I am totally, 100% on it, and it’s going to be OK, and we are going to get through this.”

The government has ruled out financial support for struggling mortgage holders – arguing it risks fuelling the inflation it is trying to combat – and has left the heavy lifting to the independent Bank of England, whose only lever is nudging the cost of borrowing up and down.

Not many on social media were impressed with the language, with one Twitter user suggesting: “We basically have Kendall Roy as prime minister.”