Skip to content
Crossbencher.

Reference card

Inflation

Three official measures, side by side. They differ by construction - CPIH includes owner-occupiers' housing costs, CPI excludes them, RPI is no longer a National Statistic but is still used for some indexation.

ONS designates CPIH as its lead measure. RPI lost National Statistic status in 2013; it typically runs higher than CPI by construction.

Prices rose 3.1% in the year to July 2026

On the fullest official measure, something that cost £100 a year earlier typically cost £103.10 by July 2026. That is slower than a year before, when the rate was 4.2%.

3.1%2023 JUL2026 JUL
The receipt →
Full provenance - official series name, source, fingerprint
SERIES: CPIH ANNUAL RATE 00: ALL ITEMS 2015=100RELEASED: 18 Aug 2026NEXT RELEASE: 16 September 2026SOURCE: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/timeseries/l55o/mm23/dataRETRIEVED: 20 Aug 2026 · sha256 7d64a4b03cdfChallenge this figure

Prices rose 2.9% in the year to July 2026

On the international-standard CPI measure, something that cost £100 a year earlier typically cost £102.90 by July 2026. That is slower than a year before, when the rate was 3.8%.

2.9%2023 JUL2026 JUL
The receipt →
Full provenance - official series name, source, fingerprint
SERIES: CPI ANNUAL RATE 00: ALL ITEMS 2015=100RELEASED: 18 Aug 2026NEXT RELEASE: 16 September 2026SOURCE: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/timeseries/d7g7/mm23/dataRETRIEVED: 20 Aug 2026 · sha256 d9d98726ac6fChallenge this figure

Prices rose 3.2% in the year to July 2026

On the older RPI measure, something that cost £100 a year earlier typically cost £103.20 by July 2026. That is slower than a year before, when the rate was 4.8%.

3.2%2023 JUL2026 JUL
The receipt →
Full provenance - official series name, source, fingerprint
SERIES: RPI All Items: Percentage change over 12 months: Jan 1987=100RELEASED: 18 Aug 2026NEXT RELEASE: 16 September 2026SOURCE: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/timeseries/czbh/mm23/dataRETRIEVED: 20 Aug 2026 · sha256 b74312ef2b6cChallenge this figure
Revision history - every earlier capture, kept

Official series get revised; records here are never overwritten. A changed figure is integrity, not error, when the change is visible.

Pass it on
The daily edition

The day, in one email.

One email a day: today’s quiz, the Bench question, the argument and what broke - every figure with its source. Free, and it saves your streak. Stop it any time from one link at the bottom of it.

No password, no confirmation hoop - the stop link is in every issue.