MacroeconomicsUK
26 November 2025
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21 January 2026
Inflation rises in December: Positive Money response
Positive Money responds to the news that Consumer Price Inflation rose to 3.6% in the 12 months to December, up from 3.5% in the 12 months to November, and that food price inflation has risen from 4.2% to 4.5% over the same period.
Ellie McLaughlin, Senior Policy and Advocacy Manager at Positive Money, said:
“Today’s higher than expected inflation is mostly due to the impact of higher travel costs over the festive period - something interest rates clearly can’t address.
“More concerning is that food price inflation has continued to rise, which unlike air travel is a core part of day to day spending, and hits those on the lowest incomes hardest because food makes up more of their overall spending.
“To tackle higher food and energy bills, we need the Government to go further on cutting costs, as we saw them start to do in the Autumn Budget, and the Bank to cut rates faster, particularly for cheaper, green energy projects.”
Notes:
New data from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit shows wind farms cut power prices by almost a third in 2025: https://eciu.net/media/press-releases/wind-farms-cut-power-prices-by-almost-a-third-in-2025
