Upbeat inflation news may be too little, far too late for Sunak

Rishi Sunak is unlikely to be benefit from inflation returning to target – a pre-election YouGov poll has put the Tories in third place behind Labour and Reform UK. Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA

After almost three years, the UK’s annual inflation rate is back to the government’s 2% target. That ought to be good news for Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives – but given the state of the opinion polls it looks like being far too little, far too late.

First the good news. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show price pressures are continuing to abate. The headline rate of inflation fell from 2.3% in April to 2% in May and there were also declines in two closely watched measures of underlying inflation.