In 2022, the average basket of goods and services cost British households £178. Today, that same basket costs £201. The numbers sound abstract until you realise what they mean: everything you buy regularly now costs 24% more than it did three years ago.

The Consumer Price Index tells the story of how Britain got here. Back in 2019, before anyone had heard of COVID-19, the index sat at 156. Life was expensive, but predictably so. Inflation had been ticking along at around 2% a year, the kind of gentle rise that barely registered in your weekly shop.

Then 2020 arrived. The pandemic didn't just shut down the economy, it rewired it. Supply chains snapped. Workers stayed home. Governments printed money to keep businesses alive. By 2021, the index had jumped to 163. That 4% rise felt manageable at first.

2022 was when everything broke. Russia invaded Ukraine. Energy prices exploded. The index rocketed to 178, a 9% jump in a single year. Suddenly, filling your car cost £20 more. Your energy bill doubled. The weekly food shop crept past £100 for families who'd never seen it break £80.

The government promised things would calm down. They didn't. 2023 brought the index to 191, another 7% rise. By now, the cumulative damage was becoming clear. A family spending £500 a week in 2021 needed £590 for the same lifestyle.

Last year offered false hope. The index rose to just 195, the smallest increase since 2019. Politicians declared victory over inflation. The headlines celebrated falling price rises. But prices weren't falling, they were just rising more slowly on top of the enormous increases that had already happened.

Now 2025 has delivered the latest blow: the index has hit 201. That 3% rise might sound modest compared to recent years, but it lands on an economy where everything already costs a quarter more than it did recently.

Here's what 24% actually means. The couple who spent £400 a month on groceries in 2022 now needs £496 for the same food. The renter paying £1,200 a month would face £1,488 for equivalent housing today. The commuter spending £200 monthly on transport now pays £248.

Energy bills may be falling slightly in April, but they're falling from peaks that were unimaginable three years ago. A small reduction on a bill that's already doubled doesn't restore what families have lost.

The index now sits 29% higher than it was in 2019, before any of this started. That's not a cost-of-living crisis. That's a permanent reset of what life costs in Britain. The inflation may have slowed, but the damage is already done.