London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jul 11, 2025

Milk and cheese drive food price inflation to 45-year high

Milk and cheese drive food price inflation to 45-year high

Food prices are rising at their fastest rate for 45 years, with the cost of basics such as milk, cheese and eggs surging.

Food price inflation hit 16.2% in the year to October, up from 14.5% in September, latest figures show.

Energy and fuel costs also rose sharply, pushing the overall inflation rate to its highest level since 1981.

The surging cost of living is squeezing household budgets, leaving many people facing hardship.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said it was hitting poorer households hardest, as they spent around half of their income on food and energy, compared to about a third for those on middle incomes.

October's overall inflation rate, of 11.1%, is the highest for 41 years and up from 10.1% in September.

The latest figures come ahead of Thursday's Autumn Statement, in which Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is expected to announce billions of pounds worth of public spending cuts and tax rises.

Mr Hunt said his plans would aim to bring spiralling price rises under control, adding that he would take "tough but necessary decisions" to get the economy back on track.

But Labour's shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said the surging inflation rate would "strike more fear in the heart of families across Britain" and blamed "12 years of Tory economic failure".

Inflation is a measure of the cost of living and to calculate it, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) keeps track of the prices of hundreds of everyday items, known as a "basket of goods".

The ONS said that food prices had risen sharply in October with milk, pasta, margarine, eggs and cereals all going up.



However, gas and electricity prices were still the main drivers of inflation after bills climbed again last month.

The government's Energy Price Guarantee scheme did mitigate those rises, limiting the average household bill to around £2,500 a year.

But the ONS said gas and electricity prices were still up by nearly 130% and 66% respectively compared with a year ago.

Without the government's support, however, it said overall inflation would have risen to as high as 13.8%.

Greg Pilley is the founder of the Stroud Brewery & Taproom in Gloucestershire, which supplies beer to pubs and shops. He told the BBC his business has been hit by a 10% rise in costs.

"Electricity has doubled over the last year," he said. "We're paying £70,000 a year compared to £30,000 in the previous year, but also raw materials are going up by between 10-15%."

He said he'd had to put his prices up, while he was also paying much more in wages.

"The future is fairly unpredictable," Mr Pilley said. "We've got to sell three times as much beer... just to stay in the same place."

Energy and food prices have been rising since last year because of the war in Ukraine and the impact of the Covid pandemic.

Rising prices have led to workers across a number of sectors calling for pay increases in line with the higher cost of living, with some industries such as the railways, staging strikes.

However, some economists suggest October's 11.1% inflation rate could be the peak.

Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said prices could begin to slow down "if the government continues to freeze [energy] prices in some way".

"There is growing evidence that the upward pressure on core inflation from global factors is now fading," he added.

Dame Deanne Julius, former member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee which sets interest rates, also said some of the elements driving inflation - aside from energy bills and food prices - were stabilising.

If inflation falls, it won't mean prices will come down, it means prices will rise at a slower rate.

The Bank of England has put up interest rates to 3% in a bid to cool inflation. It hopes that by making borrowing money more expensive, people will spend less, demand will decrease and the pace of price rises will be curbed.

But higher rates are driving up the cost of mortgages and other loans.

The squeeze on spending is dragging on the UK economy which is likely to enter a recession at the end of the year.

Latest figures showed the economy contracted by 0.2% between July and September and the Bank of England has warned the UK is facing a tough two-year downturn.

A recession is defined as when an economy shrinks for two three-month periods in a row. It's a sign an economy is performing badly, with companies often making less money and unemployment rising.

Countries around the world are experiencing higher inflation. The rate in Germany is higher than in the UK, at 11.6%, while prices rose by 7.7% in the year to October in the US.

However, the UK is performing worse economically than other major nations, with its economy smaller than it was before the Covid pandemic.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
×