Struggle to damp down inflation leaves Tories’ election hopes high and dry

The wet spring and summer has affected growth, but cost pressures have remained high in the services sector. Photograph: Gerard Ferry/Alamy

Conservative party members could be forgiven for believing that the economy had become their friend after the Liz Truss mini-budget debacle faded from view.

Heading into 2024, there was an expectation of a return to growth. And the first three months of data showed that a bounceback from last year’s recession was in train and that household disposable incomes were on the rise.