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"IF YOU were to draw the path of inflation in the typical big, rich economy over the past half century, your picture would look much like a dromedary's back: a low flat line in the 1960s; a knobbly hump of high and volatile price rises in the 1970s; dramatic disinflation in the 1980s; and low, stable inflation rates since. Japan and Germany, which were quicker to quell inflation, are well-known exceptions. But for the rest, the shape and timing of the Great Inflation bulge look remarkably similar."

This is the introduction to the article linked to below from The Economist. So what did cause the inflation hump?

The tax year in the UK runs from April 6th to April 5th the following year and so Budgets have traditionally been in March as they set out the government's tax policy for the following year. The 2006 Budget was unlikely ever to be an exciting one given the room for manoeuvre that the Chancellor currently has with taxation and spending, but there were some indications of the possible priorities of a 'Brown government', should we get one in the next few months.