Facts

Whilst addressing a Confederation of British Industry (CBI) dinner, Sunak said that “It is the Bank of England’s role to control inflation. And they are rightly independent.”

In a video published to Twitter a year later, Sunak takes credit for falling inflation. He accompanied the video with the statement, “I promised to halve inflation. There’s still work to do, but today’s news shows that we’re making progress.”

Verdict

There is a  contradiction between the two statements  made by Rishi Sunak above. On the one hand, he informs the Confederation of British Industry that it is the role of the Bank of England to control inflation, adding that they are “rightly independent”. 

On the other hand Rishi Sunak claims the personal credit for reducing inflation. 

These two positions are not compatible.

The Prime Minister has got deep experience of financial matters, knows very well that it is the role of the Bank of England to manage inflation, and supports the independence of the bank. It is therefore disingenuous  of Rishi Sunak to claim credit for falls in inflation which are (in any case) a factor of international forces as well as British domestic policy.

We emailed Rishi Sunak’s office and Number 10 offering him the chance to respond. The email was received, but no reply.