THE GUARDIAN: As rate reaches double digits, Stuart Rose calls lack of government action to shield households ‘horrifying’
The veteran retailer Stuart Rose has urged the government to do more to shield the poorest from double-digit inflation, describing the lack of action as “horrifying”, with a prime minister “on shore leave” leaving a situation where “nobody is in charge”.
Responding to July’s 10.1% headline rate, the Conservative peer and Asda chair said: “We have been very, very slow in recognising this train coming down the tunnel and it’s run quite a lot of people over and we now have to deal with the aftermath.”
Attacking a lack of leadership while Boris Johnson is away on holiday, he said: “We’ve got to have some action. The captain of the ship is on shore leave, right, nobody’s in charge at the moment.”
Lord Rose, who is a former boss of Marks & Spencer, said action was needed to kill “pernicious” inflation, which he said “erodes wealth over time”. He dismissed claims by the Tory leadership candidate Liz Truss’s camp that it would be possible for the UK to grow its way out of the crisis. » | Joanna Partridge | Wednesday, August 17, 2022
