UK inflation jumped to 3.5% in April after bill hikes sent the cost of living soaring.
The rise in Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation, from 2.6% in March, is higher than economists were forecasting and takes the CPI to its highest level since January 2024.
It comes after Ofgem's energy price cap rose by 6.4% in April, having fallen a year earlier, alongside a raft of bill hikes for under-pressure households, including steep increases to water charges, as well as rises for council tax, mobile and broadband tariffs, and TV licences among many others.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed, MP for Streatham and Croydon North, admitted the surprise rise in inflation would be a blow to households in London and other parts of Britain struggling to make ends meet.
“It is disappointing,” he told Times Radio.
“I know from people in my own constituency as well as elsewhere how difficult the cost-of-living crisis is for people.
“But no-one said we could fix the entire economy overnight.”
Economists had been expecting a rise in inflation to 3.3% last month.
The Office for National Statistics outlined what was behind the surprise jump in inflation.
Its acting director-general Grant Fitzner said: “Significant increases in household bills caused inflation to climb steeply.
“Gas and electricity bills rose this month compared with sharp falls at the same time last year due to changes to the Ofgem energy price cap.
“Water and sewerage bills also rose strongly this year, as did vehicle excise duty, which all pushed the headline rate up to its highest level since the beginning of last year.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she is “disappointed” with the inflation rise as cost of living pressures “weigh down on working people”.
She said: “We are a long way from the double-digit inflation we saw under the previous administration, but I'm determined that we go further and faster to put more money in people's pockets.
“That's why we have increased the minimum wage for millions of working people, frozen fuel duty to protect commuters and struck three trade deals in the past two weeks that will go towards cutting bills.”
But Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride blamed Labour's "damaging" tax increase for the rise in inflation.
He said: "We left Labour with inflation bang on target, but Labour's economic mismanagement is pushing up the cost of living for families - on top of the £3,500 hit to households from the Chancellor's damaging jobs tax.
"Families are paying the price for the Labour Chancellor's choices."
The Liberal Democrats warned inflation could spiral out of control unless the Chancellor reversed her decision to increase employers' national insurance contributions.
Treasury spokeswoman Daisy Cooper said: “Today's grim figures reveal a triple whammy on Britain's households - resulting from the Government's disastrous jobs tax, Donald Trump's devastating tariffs and April's damaging business rates bill rises.”
