Dec 2, 2025
One suspects the 2025 inflation forecasts—4.2% globally, stubbornly above target—will be read in Britain with a familiar weariness. Real wages have only just crept into positive territory after years of erosion. It is less a dramatic new crisis than a quiet echo of the recent past, underscoring how deeply the cost-of-living episode has marked public temperament. Economic numbers, ultimately, are felt in the weekly shop long after the headlines fade.