British families are once again feeling the squeeze at the checkout, as new figures show food price inflation has ticked upward for the first time in half a year, delivering an early blow to Andy Burnham’s flagship pledge to bring down living costs.
Data from the retail analysts Worldpanel, reported by The Telegraph, show grocery prices rose by 2.3 per cent in the four weeks to September 6, up from 2.1 per cent the month before.
That reversal ends a run of six consecutive months in which food inflation had been falling from February’s high of 4.3 per cent, and it comes at an awkward moment for a government that has staked much of its early reputation on easing the burden on household budgets.
Since taking office in July, Mr Burnham has made the cost of living his central mission, trimming VAT on electricity bills and introducing a cap on bus fares. Yet these headline-grabbing measures do little to touch the weekly shop, where working families actually feel the pinch, and this week’s numbers suggest the problem is far from solved.
Worse news may be on the way. The Food and Drink Federation has already cautioned shoppers to brace for a prolonged squeeze, forecasting that inflation could climb as high as 6.4 per cent by next July, nearly three times today’s rate. If that prediction holds, it will be hard for Labour to claim any lasting credit for taming prices, however many gimmicks ministers roll out.
There was, at least, some relief for the supermarkets themselves, with overall sales up 2 per cent in the four weeks to September 6. Retail watchers pointed to changing shopper habits rather than any government success story. Mike Watkins of NielsenIQ observed that a hot summer had loosened household purse strings, but with children back at school, families are now expected to tighten spending again and scrutinise their finances more closely, a habit many will already know well after years of squeezed incomes.
Supermarkets jostle for position
Every major chain posted sales growth over the twelve weeks to September 6. Asda scraped back into positive territory with a modest 0.1 per cent rise. Ocado posted the strongest performance of the lot, with sales up 13.3 per cent, taking its market share to 2.2 per cent. Discounter Lidl grew sales by 8 per cent on the back of strong soft drink and fresh produce sales, pushing its market share up to 8.7 per cent from 8.3 per cent a year earlier, while rival Aldi managed only a slim 0.7 per cent increase, holding a 10.6 per cent share.
Tesco remains Britain’s dominant grocer with 27.8 per cent of the market after a 1.7 per cent sales rise, Sainsbury’s grew sales by 2.9 per cent to reach a 15.9 per cent share, and Waitrose held steady on 4.5 per cent share with 2.8 per cent sales growth.
For all the movement among the supermarkets, the underlying story is one familiar to voters after years of economic strain: prices are rising again, and a Labour government that promised relief has, so far, little to show for it beyond a VAT tweak and a bus fare cap. Ministers will no doubt argue that global food costs and summer weather patterns are largely to blame, and that their measures target the cost of living more broadly rather than the supermarket shelf specifically. Whether that argument satisfies shoppers watching their bills creep back up remains to be seen.
Worth reading in full here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/09/15/food-inflation-rises-for-first-time-in-six-months/
Figures and quotations sourced from Worldpanel and NielsenIQ, as reported by Louis Goss for The Telegraph, published 15 September 2026.
