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

An improving economy was supposed to boost Sunak's campaign. But growth is flatlining, and there is little hope of an interest rate cut this week

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.