The chairman of Asda Lord Rose has said that the rise in inflation is going to be painful for everybody and said he believes a recession is 'inevitable'. The Conservative peer has also called for Government action to tackle the growing cost of living crisis.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I don’t believe it’s a question of if we have a recession, I think it’s a question of when we have it – we are heading towards a recession.”
He added: “We have been very, very slow in recognising this train coming down the tunnel and it’s now here, and it’s not only about to run us over, it’s run quite a lot of people over and we now have to deal with the aftermath of that.”
He also spoke about the rise in inflation, which has hit 10.1% as prices soar. He told Today: “Inflation is pernicious. It erodes wealth and erodes wealth over time. And if we don’t kill it, as soon as possible, we’re all going to pay the price.
“Now, some of us can afford to take that hit, some of us can’t. And I want to make sure that we look after those people who can’t take the hit.”
He added: “It is going to be painful for everybody. What bothers me a little bit about the leadership election is that everybody is throwing money at everything and we can’t afford everything and we do need to go back to basic common-sense economics.”
Speaking about Boris Johnson, he said: “We’ve got to have some action. The captain of the ship is on shore leave, right, nobody’s in charge at the moment.
“It is now the middle of August, it will be soon September. We’re going to have an emergency budget, we are told.
“When is the actual effect of that budget going to take place? Are we going to wait till October, November, December? Inflation isn’t sitting there waiting for us.”
