UK chancellor under pressure to deal with cost-of-living concerns

London

IN A struggling attempt to counter the worst slump in British living standards since the post-World War II period, British finance minister Rishi Sunak finds himself in an unenviable position due to the pandemic and the economic fallout from the ongoing Ukraine war.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer said in his "Spring Statement" on Wednesday (Mar 23) that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) - the government's fiscal watchdog - has forecast that inflation would average 7.4 per cent this year.