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UK food price inflation hit 16.2% in October – cost of food basics surging

bbc.co.uk

11–20 of 364 posts

Re: UK food price inflation hit 16.2% in October – cost of food basics surging

#11
post #5

I’m quite curious how this will end in the UK. Regardless of how much Brexit has to do with this, I think the lack of actual Brexit opportunities and the contribution it has to core inflation is at one point going to change the political landscape.

Brexit has removed one way to keep wages down - import more people. I don't think that the central bank solution of putting up interest rates to reduce the number of jobs is going to help, people still need to eat.

Brexit has caused immigration from non-EU countries to increase.

According to the government's own statistics we've seen massive increases from countries like India despite the anti-immigration rhetoric displayed by the Tories.

We've also got a partnership with India that helps fill in the gaps. Not to mention the record study visa's issued to India.

"India first again. I’m delighted that Indian nationals were issued the largest number of UK study, work and visitor visas in the year ending June 2022. More strength to the unique living bridge that connects our people." Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India [2]

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populati...

[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/india-receives-largest-sh...

https://fullfact.org/immigration/eu-migration-and-uk/

Re: UK food price inflation hit 16.2% in October – cost of food basics surging

#12
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

after all this the UK is seriously proposing free movement of people (among a pile of other things) again?!

Hard brexit was not grounded in reality so ultimately this has to happen. The Conservatives should've stuck with May's compromise - now Labour are likely to take power.

A Labour Party that in most respects doesn't sound any different to their opponents.

Re: UK food price inflation hit 16.2% in October – cost of food basics surging

#13
post #5

I’m quite curious how this will end in the UK. Regardless of how much Brexit has to do with this, I think the lack of actual Brexit opportunities and the contribution it has to core inflation is at one point going to change the political landscape.

Brexit has removed one way to keep wages down - import more people. I don't think that the central bank solution of putting up interest rates to reduce the number of jobs is going to help, people still need to eat.

Brexit added cost and friction to labor imports but to a great extent European labor has been substituted with workers from further off.

Meanwhile we had a hot summer affecting the harvest, rising cost of energy inputs to the food sector (and every other sector) and a bird flu epidemic affecting supplies of eggs and poultry.

Re: UK food price inflation hit 16.2% in October – cost of food basics surging

#14
post #4

I’m quite curious how this will end in the UK. Regardless of how much Brexit has to do with this, I think the lack of actual Brexit opportunities and the contribution it has to core inflation is at one point going to change the political landscape.

Some stuff in the media today about a Swiss style deal with the EU.

Swiss type deal isn't working for the Swiss anymore. EU was putting pressure on the Swiss to accept a comprehensive deal to replace the dozens of agreements that they have. When the Swiss refused, the EU simple lets one by one pass without renewing them.

This has e.g. happened with the Horizon Europe research program which Switzerland is no longer part of.

Re: UK food price inflation hit 16.2% in October – cost of food basics surging

#15
The UK Pound collapsed for awhile there and only just now stabilized. But it is still far weaker than it has been for the last 20 years. So of course things cost more Sterling to purchase. Mix in global inflationary pressure and you have the situation as it is today.

Re: UK food price inflation hit 16.2% in October – cost of food basics surging

#16
post #10
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're all curious about it. It probably has to start with the main opposition actually acknowledging that Brexit is harmful. At the moment they've all been ordered to shut up about it.

This seems to coincide with inflation of food prices in the US where there was no Brexit.

How full are supermarket shelves in the US? Whole product lines are missing in supermarkets in the UK.

Re: UK food price inflation hit 16.2% in October – cost of food basics surging

#17

I’m quite curious how this will end in the UK. Regardless of how much Brexit has to do with this, I think the lack of actual Brexit opportunities and the contribution it has to core inflation is at one point going to change the political landscape.

To compete after Brexit the UK needed to break with the status quo and that most likely meant, as many Brexiteers suggested, going for low tax low regs. Indeed, if the level of taxes and regulations in the UK is the same as in the EU then why setup a business in the UK rather than in the EU?

We see that the current government is unwilling to go down that path, although Covid did throw a major spanner in the works of public finance, so the country is almost guaranteed a slow (or not so slow) decline.

This is not about whether I think Brexit is good or bad, but it did happen and that changes what the country can and should do in order to prosper under those new conditions.

Re: UK food price inflation hit 16.2% in October – cost of food basics surging

#18
post #10
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're all curious about it. It probably has to start with the main opposition actually acknowledging that Brexit is harmful. At the moment they've all been ordered to shut up about it.

This seems to coincide with inflation of food prices in the US where there was no Brexit.

It's not just about food prices. Brexit has decimated exports, put whole industries and professions in jeopardy, and damaged the value of the pound.

Re: UK food price inflation hit 16.2% in October – cost of food basics surging

#19

I’m quite curious how this will end in the UK. Regardless of how much Brexit has to do with this, I think the lack of actual Brexit opportunities and the contribution it has to core inflation is at one point going to change the political landscape.

To compete after Brexit the UK needed to break with the status quo and that most likely meant, as many Brexiteers suggested, going for low tax low regs. Indeed, if the level of taxes and regulations in the UK is the same as in the EU then why setup a business in the UK rather than in the EU? We see that the current government is unwilling to go down that path, although Covid did throw a major spanner in the works of…

Any attempt to do that would be political suicide, as indeed Liz Truss recently demonstrated.

Re: UK food price inflation hit 16.2% in October – cost of food basics surging

#20
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Brexit has removed one way to keep wages down - import more people. I don't think that the central bank solution of putting up interest rates to reduce the number of jobs is going to help, people still need to eat.

Brexit has caused immigration from non-EU countries to increase. According to the government's own statistics we've seen massive increases from countries like India despite the anti-immigration rhetoric displayed by the Tories. We've also got a partnership with India that helps fill in the gaps. Not to mention the record study visa's issued to India. "India first again. I’m delighted that Indian nationals were issued…

Increase in total numbers or in proportion?

Edit: the link above shows that in raw numbers, non-EU migration increased while EU decreased. Appears to not be a complete 1:1 replacement, though. I asked because if you only give the proportion, it can still increase if just the EU migration numbers go down.

Also relevant to reading the graph, the campaign/referendum on brexit started in 2015.

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