Inflation is rising, interest rates are going up – and Labor’s economic woes could be One Nation’s gain

‘Tuesday’s interest rate rise and Wednesday’s inflation numbers only compound the bad political vibes for Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers,’ writes Tom McIlroy. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

After the defeat of the voice referendum during the Albanese government’s first term, things looked pretty rough for Labor.

Labor slumped to some of its worst polling levels and government MPs were in a funk. The Coalition, then led by Peter Dutton, started to imagine the possibility of winning after one term. Labor’s polls went in the wrong direction for a year, only turning around in the months before the election.