UK’s 10% inflation casts doubt on Truss and Sunak’s tax cut promises

The consumer prices index rose by 10.1% in the year to July and the rapidly rising cost of living is weakening public finances. Photograph: Matthew Horwood/Getty Images

Britain’s first double-digit inflation in more than four decades has cast doubts on the plausibility of the tax cuts being promised by Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak during their leadership battle, one of the UK’s leading thinktanks has said.

Following news that the government’s preferred measure of the cost of living rose by 10.1% in the year to July, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said higher inflation would mean extra spending on welfare benefits, state pensions and on debt interest.