The enormous growth in migration in recent years means that, once you take account of the growing population, there is considerably less income floating around for every family than there was a few years ago.
The Office for Budget Responsibility is widely expected to slash its growth forecasts next month, which could prompt the chancellor to further trim spending in the coming years.
Moreover, up until today's figures, the profile of economic growth in the UK was frankly pretty dismal.
Now, thanks to that jump in December - an unexpected late Christmas gift for the chancellor - cumulative growth since the election is now up to 0.4%.
Economy shows surprise growth at end of 2024 - but living standards hit.
