Evening Standard Comment: As inflation woes worsen, where’s the plan for growth?

Omicron is not only a public health emergency but an economic headache too. CPI inflation rose by 5.1 per cent in the 12 months up to November, the highest level for a decade and much faster than the Bank of England anticipated.

The Bank has so far resisted pressure to raise interest rates, given the fragile state of the economy, whose outlook has been harmed by the new variant.

What is clear however is that Britain lacks a coherent plan for growth, rising productivity and widespread vacancies. Stagflation — that is the combination of low growth and rising prices — would be the nightmare economic scenario.

So while the Prime Minister is in all sorts of political mess, much of it self-inflicted, the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, faces trouble too. Omicron has made things far harder to predict.

But five and a half years on from the EU referendum, it is not obvious how Britain is going to sustainably grow its economy and ensure the rising living standards the public demand.

It IS not only retail and hospitality facing shutdowns due to Covid — London’s theatreland is too. Big West End productions including The Lion King and Life of Pi are having to cancel performances as a result of outbreaks.

At such an important time of year for theatre and theatre lovers, it is yet another example of how Omicron has arrived and changed the game at the worst possible time. Let’s hope the curtain stays up on the West End throughout this difficult period.