And along the way we have been told time and again that the stability of the economy has been the party's saving grace, as well as Gordon Brown's golden ticket to 10 Downing Street.

No longer, it seems. Today's announcement that inflation last month hit 3% - the highest for over 10 years - is an unwelcome wobble in an economy that looks increasingly under strain.

The MPC shocked economists by raising interest rates this month, and after today's announcement (which explains why interest rates went up) they look set to rise even further next month, and potentially more later this year.

Could Britain, and Labour, be heading to a 1970s-style economic nadir?

For what it's worth, I think no. Or at least, not yet. But as the saying goes "once bitten, twice shy": the inflation expectations that have formed on the back of record stability are under threat. Trust is difficult to gain, and far easier to lose - should the MPC get it wrong with interest rates, then it will take time to restore the sort of stability we have grown accustomed to over the last decade. And it will be Labour who feel the political effects of an increasingly unstable economy.

The headlines that scream higher interest rates and record inflation may result in the electorate no longer giving them the benefit of the doubt as far as economic management is concerned.

We're a long way off an economic nightmare, but this unwelcome headache should prompt Labour to reach for an economic aspirin. If they don't, the economy could ruin Labour where an unpopular war and alleged corruption have thus far failed.

alexanderbaker.blogspot.com