The Bank struggles to catch up

Most MPs and establishment officials tell us the Ā Bank of England is independent. They tell us The Bankā€™s main task is to keep inflation to their single target of 2%.

Inflation is well over 10%, more than five times target. It has been above 11%, and was 5.5% before Putin Ā invaded Ā Ukraine and set off an energy crisis. Inflation in China is 2.1%, in Japan 3.8% and Switzerland 3% though they too import a Ā lot of dear energy.

The Bankā€™s Governor has to report to the Chancellor and to the Treasury Select Committee.

Why is there no criticism of the Bankā€™s failure to control inflation ? Why did so few of us warn in advance of Bank Errors? Why do the Bank refuse to monitor, comment on and report money and credit growth? Why did the Bank print an extra Ā£150 bn in 2021 thinking well into recovery Ā that would not be inflationary?

Why has it taken the Bank so long to get Bank rate to 3.5%? Why now we are entering a downturn does it think it needs further hikes? Why doesnā€™t it put rates up immediately to the rate they think they need to throttle inflation? I argued against Ā the extra bond buyingĀ in 2021, forecast higher inflation and urged higher base rate this year.

Now I want Treasury and Bank to work together on a growth policy to shorten and lessen the recession the Bank is now determined to create.

 

 

156 Comments

  1. Lifelogic
    December 16, 2022

    Well the Treasury and Bank have certainly worked together to cause this 10%+ inflation by debasing the pound and to have a policy to kill growth. The recent budget encourages more to claim benefits (as work so often does not pay), go black market, delay or cancel investments or just leave the country.

    Excellent interview with Aseem, Malhotra on the Mark Styne show GBNew. Why are the government and OFCOM still pushing/coercing these unsafe, ineffective and unnecessary vaccines? Is it to drum up extra demand for the NHS and cardiologists, surely the waiting lists are long enough already? Is there no one competent in government to honestly analyse the figures and the current 200+ a day excess deaths in the UK? Wilful blindness it seems.

    1. Lifelogic
      December 16, 2022

      The net zero energy religious agenda, excessive taxation and the open door immigration policy also cause extra inflation with extra demand for hotels, housing etc.

      It is reported that 50% of NHS 111 call are now abandoned as the sick people calling can either wait no longer or perhaps just pass out or die before it is answered? So in 50% of cases the service does more harm than good by just wasting people’s time.

      The Sunak Gov. agenda is almost 100% wrong every issue – on tax levels, the soft loans for worthless degrees HS2, the endless red tape, the size of government, the net harm vaccines, net zero and the rip of unreliable energy agenda, the woke lunacy agenda, the encouragement of illegal migration, the incentives not to work and/or go black market…

      1. No Longer Anonymous
        December 16, 2022

        Lifelogic – A nurse on TV today asking if she’ll ever be able to afford to have children of her own. Even young doctors are asking if they’ll ever afford to have children of their own.

        12 years of Tory policy has produced reverse Darwinism.

        All the wrong behaviours are rewarded and the right ones are punished.

        1. Lifelogic
          December 16, 2022

          Junior doctors start on about Ā£29,000 but they have given up six years of earning and often have Ā£150k of student debt too plus Ā£10k of interest on it PA. So after tax, NI, pension cont., just interest on the student debt, commuting costs, ULEZ and congestion charges they might have enough left circa Ā£700 PCM to rent a grotty bed sit. Nothing left for food, heat, light, holidaysā€¦ they are hugely under paid yet some lawyers start on Ā£100k after just three years study. In Australia doctors pay is about double.

          1. a-tracy
            December 16, 2022

            Junior Doctors at a basic of just Ā£29,000 seems simply wrong; however, what are their enhancements for nights, weekends, and bank holidays (between 30% and 60%)? How many hours of overtime on top of the 35 basic do they work on average are they capped at 48 now? Do they do 3 12-hour shifts like nurses?

            After five years in University! A student nurse comes out of Uni after three years of study on Ā£27,500, so they get a reward of just Ā£1000 per year of extra study, do they climb quicker than a nurse does?

          2. Sea_Warrior
            December 17, 2022

            I’ve long felt that junior doctors’ starting pay is too low. As for accommodation, I would suggest that each time we build a new hospital, a block of hospital-owned flats is built too, so that the more junior medical staff have access to cheap (‘at cost’) accommodation.

          3. Hope
            December 17, 2022

            LL,

            Do not forget N.Ireland is still under EU rule so all EU net stupid directives must be complied with. Reducing Nitrogen is the latest EU global fad. Dutch farmers now not allowed to pass their farms onto their families. When they die or retire the farm must go!!

            UK govt could do so much but CHOOSE not to. Tories want to remain under EU as a vassal state. The majority of Tory MPs (277) voted for vassalage. Hunt is going to make sure the UK cannot diverge, energy dependence is central to that aim.

        2. IanT
          December 16, 2022

          If you print too much money, create asset bubbles (most obviously in housing) then ordinary folk will get priced out. When Bank rates are raised to 3.5% (shock/horror!) with inflation still running at 10% – we get howls from the BBC about mortgages being unaffordable. Auntie doesn’t point out that we have lived beyond our means for years, printing Monopoly money to pay our way. All we get is “We are a rich country and can afford to….” (support the poor, welcome migrants, increase foreign aid, fight climate change, pay 19% increases, subsidise energy) – an endless spending list.
          No, be honest – We are BROKE, nursing an ailing economy with leaders that refuse to acknowlege the root cause of these problems, a severe lack of any long term strategic planning in skills, industry and energy – coupled to an ever increasing nanny State and a reckless belief in Net Zero.

          1. Sharon
            December 16, 2022

            Thereā€™s a great article In TCW today, written by Ewen Stewart, a City economist who runs the consultancy Walbrook Economics and director of the think tank Global Britain.

            He describes several decades, and concludes that the nearly 50% of GDP that the state is costing, is strangling the country. A lot of what he describes ties in with what JR has been saying.

            https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/the-political-establishment-is-strangling-britain/

      2. a-tracy
        December 16, 2022

        You’ve got to wonder why they’ll give soft loans for degrees to people with 5 old grade C GCSEs that do not lead to jobs, instead of explaining to the teenagers, do a three-year nursing degree and you’re guaranteed a worthwhile, rewarding job for life with training to grow in the position, enhanced rates if you work evenings and weekends, 3 day weeks and a fantastic pension you can’t buy elsewhere.

        1. Mickey Taking
          December 16, 2022

          So why does NHS say they are short of nurses, claimed leaving in droves, get higher pay in supermarkets (you have to laugh with checkout and shelf loading paying about Ā£11 per hour) do they think they will just get a store manager’s job just like that? What is the pay while taking the nursing degree you mention? We hear a qualified nurse is on Ā£27k basic – is that correct?

          1. Hope
            December 16, 2022

            AT,
            You do not need a 3 year degree to become a nurse!! Nor a degree to be a police officer! Utter ridiculous.

            School and university have become Tory Marxist ideology centres.

            This socialist Tory party are killing strivers, workers, entrepreneurs. Tories are for criminals, welfare, hard left win Marxists and the feckless.

          2. a-tracy
            December 16, 2022

            MT – nursing pay is nothing like supermarket pay, supermarket workers don’t get the unsociable hours enhancements 30% to 60%, the defined benefit pension, full sick pay, and other perks and benefits, nor do they get 33 days holiday from the start + extras, nor can they do bank cover for enhanced rates of pay.

            All the nurses I know that have left recently have retired aged 60. They started nursing at 16 (not 21) and worked hard for their qualifications, taking career breaks to have their children and usually doing just a couple of days a week whilst the children were small. This causes dips in availability. They also get full pay whilst on maternity leave on a reducing scale so they take longer. 75% are women, they need to train more men from the start, as men don’t take as long a break, will willingly work more hours and are able to do more unsociable hours. They need to start training from 16 again to check to see if they have the basic skills required for this very demanding job and giving them care qualifications at 18 that can go on to give those eligible to a degree course that opportunity and allow vocational training qualifications; 2 days paid in hospital, 3 days in university hospitals from 18 the course to last slightly longer four years maybe because what they learn on the wards will be as valuable as what they can learn in the class.

            Nurses deserve good rewards, they do move up pay bands in the year between % grade increases to boost their pay till they reach the top of the pay band, there is an argument for the top of each pay band to get a higher % increase.

          3. IanT
            December 16, 2022

            This summer, nurses were awarded about a 4% pay increase, backdated to April 2020.
            A newly qualified Nurse (at the start of Band 5) will currently earn Ā£27,055 a year. A nurse at the start of Band 6 will earn Ā£33,706 and a Band 8C nurse earns Ā£67,064.00. So nurses salaries vary with their Pay Bands (and experience) but the ‘average’ salary of a NHS nurse is probably somewhere between Ā£33,000 to Ā£35,000 a year currently.

          4. Berkshire Alan
            December 16, 2022

            MT
            Yes they start on Ā£27 K which is the bottom of that scale for the first year, then that goes up each year, plus the normal annual review which they all get, until they get to the top of the scale about 35K, then its annual reviews only.
            For the first 5 years they also get 35 days holiday, and overtime payments at hourly rate plus 50%
            After year 5 up until year 10 they get 35 days holiday per year
            After 10 years they get 41 days holiday per year.
            Actual pay rates rise with promotion, from the first band.
            Average pay for a full time nurse is nurse is Ā£37 K per year, all figures from the Royal College of Nursing website.
            Worth a google for more interesting information.
            Those working in London get 20% more salary than above, those working in outer London get 10% more.

          5. a-tracy
            December 18, 2022

            IanT, they were offered 4% when the NMW rose by nearly 7% – what did everyone expect, people want their differentials, no-one ends up better off, the hypocrites in the Labour Party want Ā£15 per hour minimum wage, well what is the nurse going to want then for a basic day hour. Minimum wage Ā£9.50 Starter on Grade 5 (usually at 21 years of age) Ā£13.87.

            Minimum wage Ā£15, the nurse will require at least Ā£19 to keep parity with the unskilled.

        2. Lifelogic
          December 16, 2022

          At least 75% of degrees seem to be worthless to me let alone worth Ā£50k of student debt, plus 7% interest PA plus the three years loss of earnings and learning how to work. If people want a duff degree let them pay for it themselves or do it on line, not get other tax payers to fund it with soft loans never to be repaid loans.

      3. Hope
        December 16, 2022

        No point having a low paid job, welfare at Ā£60,000 is much better! All inclusive Four star hotels plus pocket mo et for 45,000 criminals who entered the country illegally- why work?

        Hunt saying he is in agreement with Bailey!! Not sure why JR has written this blog when Hunt clearly on a mission to destroy economy, pass industry and jobs to his beloved China, make sure UK not more competitive with EU, closely align with EU on everything, happy to give away N.Ireland to EU, give away fishing waters to EU, more energy inter connectors to make UK dependent on hostile EU for energy, import more fracked gas from US for Germany!!

        Guido highlighted yesterday socialist Tory has since 2018 hired 462,000 more public sector staff!! Big state high taxes while destroying our culture for Tories culture Marxism. Highlighted by a good article by Peter Hitchens yesterday. Children from 4-21 brainwashed and helped by nudging from BBC and extremely left wing ASA quango on every advert.

        Happy Christmas everyone.

      4. Christine
        December 16, 2022

        The last time I tried using NHS 111 I gave up after listening to the recorded message advising me on Covid symptoms, which went on for ages and wasn’t relevant to my query, I phoned 999 instead and luckily got an ambulance in under 5 minutes.

        1. a-tracy
          December 16, 2022

          I hope you are better now, Christine; you must have felt very poorly to have to resort to that.

          1. Christine
            December 16, 2022

            It wasn’t for me it was for my husband. Luckily they got him to the hospital quickly and fixed him.

      5. MFD
        December 16, 2022

        Well said LL, i feel they could not run a booze up in a brewery.
        We know that climate lies are pushed, I suspect they do want the muslim army to continue to grow and the jabs to cause heart problems to reduce our White population.
        We are still stronger than the lefties so they will not be able to win.

      6. Original Richard
        December 16, 2022

        LL :

        The ā€œsoft loans for worthless degreesā€ is an understatement.

        The university educational establishment, supported by 120,000 Chinese ā€œstudentsā€ and large university fees are responsible for much of todayā€™s problems.

        Students today experience not only poor and inadequate teaching, with many of the courses completely useless and hence leading to worthless degrees as you say, but are also subjected to intolerant communist/far left ideology for 3 years and then leave with a very large debt and the inability to be able to discuss and communicate ideas, the inability to be able to think for themselves and with insufficient knowledge to know when they are being conned.

        1. Hope
          December 16, 2022

          University Students allowed to bring their family! Do not forget this is part of the Tory mass immigration policy.

          Why on earth is this allowed! Sunak wants more of it!! They prevented Gillis bill this week. They are not going to stop mass immigration. They have implemented and encouraged it for trade, university illegal criminals etc. for 12.5 years while lying, yes blatantly lying, to the public to say the opposite to get elected.

          Tories are literally destroying our culture and way of life and making us pay for the pleasure.

          Just get out.

          1. Shirley M
            December 16, 2022

            Agreed, Hope. The low paid immigrants that they are bringing in will require taxpayer support for the whole of their lives and won’t even contribute enough for their own state pensions, at which point the government have their excuse to import even more to pay for ‘everyone pension’. Say bye to Brits, we are expendable. Immigrants preferred, especially those who bring their own laws and culture and then impose them on the rest of us with the approval of our government. Try buying meat prepared to UK Animal Welfare Laws. It is nigh on impossible!

    2. BOF
      December 16, 2022

      +1 LL
      Yes, a powerful presentation of the facts by Dr Malhotra. All MP’s should watch. Where were the MP’s when Andrew Bridgen made his excellent speech?

      1. Hope
        December 16, 2022

        Meanwhile ministers hold a vote in parliament to block the public from seeing or knowing what they trouser from interest and lobby groups!!! Cost of living, who is pulling the strings of our puppets!

        LL,
        Good articles in con woman about Jeremy Ferrar, Valance and Whitty. All need investigating as part of covid (issue ed) and the public should know all the facts not a brief biased summary.

        1. Mickey Taking
          December 16, 2022

          Well they all come from BIG PHARMA, get government jobs with a gong a little later….whats not to like?

      2. Neil Sutherland
        December 16, 2022

        Same Bridgen that wanted mandatory vaccination for care workers?

    3. Enigma
      December 16, 2022

      Well said Lifelogic youā€™re clearly awake. Thank goodness for Andrew Bridgen, Danny Kruger and Christopher Chope putting their heads above the parapet – when will the others wake up?

      1. Ian Wragg
        December 16, 2022

        BoE running Britain down so they can offer salvation by rejoining the EU.
        More gimmigrants arriving yesterday for their benefits nirvana.
        Welfare paying more than work. What a bunch of chances in Westminster.

        1. Hope
          December 16, 2022

          Tories want welfare claimants able to get a mortgage!!

          They have an advisor who is working on the theory of paying everyone a set amount not to stigmatise welfare!!

    4. PeteB
      December 16, 2022

      LL,
      All good observations. One other factor at play: GroupThink

      If you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you keep getting what you’ve been getting.

      1. Lifelogic
        December 16, 2022

        +1 group think, vested interest and even blatant corruption.

    5. Sharon
      December 16, 2022

      Australia has 13% extra unexplained deaths this yearā€¦usual figure for a high death year because of an outbreak of, say, flu is between 1-2%. Thatā€™s not being questioned either! Though, I read yesterday their equivalent of Aseem Malhotra is also calling for a halt on the vaccines.

      There are some gallant voices calling out in the wilderness in various countries. MPs need to gather round and listen to them!!!! But why are so few politicians in so many countries too fearful to gather round? Who are they frightened of?

      1. Lifelogic
        December 16, 2022

        Their largest actuarial group also demanding a proper investigation of these increases deaths. Is is surely quite easy to breakdown the cause or causes of this. But we have wilful blindness it seems. As we do with net zero, climate alarmism, HS2, what/who caused the inflationā€¦

    6. Cuibono
      December 16, 2022

      +many
      I have read that it is simply ā€œgetting ridā€ of over supply.
      Doesnā€™t seem logical to meā€¦but thenā€¦how would one dump such toxic stuff?
      It wouldnā€™t be very ā€œgreenā€ to pour it into the seas, would it?

    7. Christine
      December 16, 2022

      Not only are they still pushing it they have approved its use for babies and children. Having filled in a yellow card report for an adverse effect that led to a hospital admission for a family member, apart from the initial response asking if we were ok with it being referred to a neurologist, we haven’t heard anything since. This was over a year ago. Not enough is being done to investigate these vaccine issues.

  2. Javelin
    December 16, 2022

    Inflation is a consequence of globalism.

    When you outsource manufacturing and energy production donā€™t be surprised when prices increase when there are supply chain problems.

    When you print vast amounts of money to copy a Chinese communist pandemic control policy dont be surprised when the value of your money drops and prices increase.

    When you follow uneconomic NetZero, Mass migration of low skilled labour and gold plated public sector pensions donā€™t be surprised when the markets call you out and force interest rates up and prices increase.

    Putting up interest rates to counter ā€œghost inflationā€ isnā€™t going to stop inflation The ONLY way to tackle inflation is to tackle the problems I listed above.

    1. Javelin
      December 16, 2022

      Interest Rates are only high to support the FX rate of Sterling due to over borrowing by the Government to pay for NetZero fallout, ZeroCovid fall out, Public Sector pensions, the cost of mass migration of low skilled labour.

      Letā€™s not kid ourselves that interest rates are high to reduce inflation. Interest rates high to keep FX rates high to stop imports increasing in price and causing even more inflation.

      1. Mike Wilson
        December 17, 2022

        Interest rates are not high by historical standards.

    2. Radar
      December 16, 2022

      Javelin, excellent points!

      1. Cuibono
        December 16, 2022

        +++100
        So say I..
        A totally logical explanation for the madness!
        Only other thingā€¦WHY did they follow the plandemic protocols?
        Was it a money-making opportunity or about controlā€¦or?
        Just too tied up in Treaties etc.?

        1. Lynn Atkinson
          December 16, 2022

          Thatā€™s the price of a seat on the Ark.

          1. Cuibono
            December 16, 2022

            +1

    3. Lifelogic
      December 16, 2022

      Mainly caused by currency devaluation and currency debasement (Sunak and BoE money printing and the lock down) also by the endless government waste and economic mismanagement like net zero, test and trace, net harm vaccines which causes a lack of confidence in the Ā£ sterling and the ability of the real economy to grow out of this government created mess.

      1. Cuibono
        December 16, 2022

        +many
        And I am shocked at how people are just accepting it all.
        No heating in schools!! No angry mums at the gates!
        Ā£15 a day to drive into London PLUS tax on various engine sizes ( or something).
        Yet they shrug and get on with it.
        Our education system of the past 20 years has worked in most cases.
        Either raging lefties or dumbed down sheeple.

        1. a-tracy
          December 16, 2022

          Labour think the 25.8% of voters who bothered to come out in Stretford near Manchester to select a new MP give the government a message. The only message that gives me is apathy. The constituency has been Labour since its creation in 1997.
          This new MP has priorities:
          Properly funded public services;
          A green New Deal
          An end to the Housing Crisis.

          Now if Tice wants to prove he’s making headway or Farage lets see them breakthrough in West Lancashire (Rosie Cooper’s seat) otherwise its just hot air.

          1. Mickey Taking
            December 16, 2022

            But the number of people who braved the weather to vote, meant Labour majority rose 10%.

          2. a-tracy
            December 16, 2022

            Braved the weather lol, weā€™re northerners thereā€™s still people out and about in shorts (Iā€™m not kidding).

            There was a 69.2% turnout in 2019. Much more representative of the area. Labour got 60.3% of the majority of the majority of the area. Less voted Labour this time than voted Tory last time. Theyā€™ve switched off again and Labour will just walk this seat with anyone with a red rosette.
            Brexit Party now Reform maintained their minimal vote of 3.5% which means theyā€™re not breaking through. The Libdem vote dropped, the Tories tanked but why would Tories bother coming out in a constituency that they couldnā€™t win in their best chance year 2019.

            This is no victory for Labour, its just meh, back to not bothering because nothing changes for people in Stretford. I am surprised 25%. What does voting Labour ever get Stretford?

      2. Berkshire Alan
        December 16, 2022

        LIfelogic.
        When has Printing more and more money ever worked long term, the World is littered with examples of failures of that type of policy.
        Another lesson never learn’t

        1. Lifelogic
          December 16, 2022

          A lesson they do not wish to learn as they essentially are stealing the money for themselves.

    4. Narrow Shoulders
      December 16, 2022

      Ghost inflation? What is that Javelin?

      1. PeteB
        December 16, 2022

        Hauntingly High Prices!

        1. Narrow Shoulders
          December 17, 2022

          (:

    5. Sharon
      December 16, 2022

      Javelin

      +1

  3. Lifelogic
    December 16, 2022

    In the Telegraph today:- One year on, we still havenā€™t learnt the lessons of lockdown failure
    The apparatus that was so eager to apply restrictions last Christmas is still there, ready to pounce again.
    Fraser Nelson all very depressing indeed.

    and

    Itā€™s civil servants, not ministers, who run things
    Government departments are impossible to control, since politicians have little influence over officials.
    David Frost

    Indeed and civil servants have no incentives to deliver what the publics want or offer value for money. So we almost never get value for money. They care not what they spend nor what value, if any, they deliver. Often they even spend money to do serious net harm – as with the Covid vaccines, the lockdowns, net zero, most red tape, test and trace, the Wuhan gain of function experiments and Lab Leak (?) the vast over taxation, the free at the point of delay and often non treatment NHSā€¦

    1. a-tracy
      December 16, 2022

      Well, if they lock people down, requirements for police, fire, hospitals, all public services drop significantly.

  4. Tony Hart
    December 16, 2022

    How did Switzerland manage to keep inflation at 3.5%?? What did their central bank do?

    1. Sea_Warrior
      December 16, 2022

      Good question – but I immediately think that the government probably didn’t try to wreck the economy by excessive lockdowns. Now I’m off to find out if I’m right!

      1. Sea_Warrior
        December 16, 2022

        I’ve been – and it looks like Switzerland locked-down less, and for shorter-periods, than we did. We must learn from the experiences of other countries. I’m particularly interested in why Austria has bothered to test at three times our rate, for no obvious positive outcome, and how Singapore, with a similar infection rate to ours, and without mass-clapping, managed to end up with a death-rate a tenth of the UK’s.

    2. Nottingham Lad Himself
      December 16, 2022

      They had a sensible arrangement with the European Union and are a member of the Schengen area.

      Next?

      1. Lynn Atkinson
        December 16, 2022

        Did you see that the EU Parliament could be disbanded because of the corruption therein? Itā€™s not required of course because itā€™s NOT a Parliament I.e it cannot propose, enact, amend and repeal laws at will.
        But itā€™s obviously a very good argument for abandoning ALL the EU institutions, for instance the account have not been signed off for decades!

        1. Nottingham Lad Himself
          December 16, 2022

          How refreshing to have an institution where something is actually done about this, and where the guilty go to prison.

          When did that last happen here?

          1. Mickey Taking
            December 16, 2022

            Boris Becker? Max Clifford? Jeremy Archer?

        2. Bill Brown
          December 16, 2022

          Lynn Atkinson

          No EU institutions will be abandoned

          1. Peter2
            December 16, 2022

            Lynn never said that eubilly.
            More fake stuff from you.

      2. Mickey Taking
        December 16, 2022

        they clearly wanted to make it easier to drive or walk with their brown paper bags stuffed with currency into the country!

  5. Mark B
    December 16, 2022

    Good morning.

    Why has no one been sacked ? Why is the man who was Chancellor of the Exchequer promoted ? And why did not everybody else see what was around the corner ?

    Questions that will never be answered.

  6. No Longer Anonymous
    December 16, 2022

    The Tory Govt has to go.

    Blame the Bank all you like, even if rightly.

    Pick any subject but the ‘little boats’ issue is the one that will see Tory MPs reduced to tens and out of power for good. It is highly symbolic in a time of extreme hardship.

    You can NOT be trusted.

    Your one and only trick is to keep giving working people stick – your core voters – as you cave in to every single Leftist demand.

    1. Shirley M
      December 16, 2022

      Well said NLA. It takes a great deal of arrogance to kick your voters in the teeth by encouraging illegal boat people and then treating them better than the people who fund it. Where is the incentive for Brits? Why the hell should anyone work hard and pay taxes when non-contributors get better care (and higher priority) than the strivers? I understand if they need a doctor there is always one on call. Oh, wouldn’t it be wonderful if Brits could get the same. They will be a drain on the taxpayer for the whole of their lives. If they had any skills they could have walked in legally under our pathetic and watered down points system. We don’t want uninvited guests. We don’t want hordes of young men from a different culture roaming our towns and villages. We don’t want immigrants who blatantly ignore UK law and appear to be ungrateful sods anyway. We don’t want low pay workers. We don’t want the government handing out ‘right to settle’ or citizenship to these uninvited people. They abuse our generosity in a massive way. Why would we want anyone with that attitude? The government is its own worst enemy and is turning the British population into enemy No 1.

      1. a-tracy
        December 16, 2022

        Shirley, I saw a tweet today, an article from the Standard about a failed Algerian asylum seeker who used 5 IDs to claim Ā£370k in benefits. HOW MUCH! Claiming pays.

        He got 5 years in jail for stealing over 8 years that’s Ā£9250 of fraud they discovered there could be more. Who lets us all down with this, who is supposed to check the IDs and eligibility, disabled friends he claimed carers allowance for? He got a Council flat in London. He used a forged French ID. Five years at our expense, no chance of repayment, is he and his family getting deported, do the crime then you and your family pay the consequence if you want to stay together.

        1. Berkshire Alan
          December 16, 2022

          Shirley and Tracy.

          You speak for many of us out here, (in effect a no mans land) the whole DNA of the Country is now being diluted far too fast, I wonder how many recent immigrants would stay and fight for us if our freedom was under threat ?
          If working and trying to pay your own way, an increasing number of people think that is now a stupid idea given Taxation and Benefits is so widely spread.

          1. a-tracy
            December 16, 2022

            Alan, I have always been happy with immigration of workers. People who provide their skills and labour, especially those the UK needs and wants. I’m not bothered about DNA dilution.

            What I object to is being played. For houses, benefit fraud, carers and disability allowances, when people I know living here for over 75 years couldn’t even get two months carers allowance, they weren’t even asking for it for life! People I know can’t get council housing even though they’ve been on waiting lists for over 8 years. Families falling apart when the Mum realises the only way she’ll get a house and higher benefits is to get rid of the Dad.

        2. Shirley M
          December 16, 2022

          + many a-tracy. A FAILED asylum seeker received 370K in benefits! Absolutely unbelievable. Why is a FAILED asylum seeker not sent back but instead given even more taxpayers money? They may as well scatter taxpayers money like confetti into the homes of any so called ‘asylum seekers’. Then again, they already do, in a fashion. I am sick of Brits being treated as cash cows for the uninvited ‘guests’, criminals and freeloaders. They are given everything while the Brits who pay for it all get kicked in the teeth and their pleas ignored again and again! The more freeloaders this government brings in, the longer the queues, and the ‘immigrants’ always seem to get priority. Yes, another black mark for this evil government!

          1. a-tracy
            December 16, 2022

            So he gets 5 years in prison (well probably 2) at our expense, his family will continue to get all the benefits, not pay back a penny, then what, he comes out of prison and gets straight back on benefits. It makes me fume.

            Seriously, an English 75 year old woman with a fractured vertebrae in her back and ribs fractured, sent out of hospital unable to get upstairs requiring a commode and downstairs bed, her husband, still with a little part-time job at 78 had to give up some of that work to care for her for in the home for three months, they tried to get a little top-up to their small state pension with a carers allowance, thrown out, computer says no, she has to be sick for six months to get a penny. Then I read about thisā€¦.fraudster (trying to be polite) taking the Mickey out of all of us and getting away with it for EIGHT years! šŸ˜”

      2. Mike Wilson
        December 17, 2022

        @Shirley M

        Yes, but ā€¦ Labour, the Lib Dems, the Greens and the SNP – in any permutation- will be even worse.

        There is no hope. The Reform Party are nowhere. The media are complicit. Iā€™m lucky. I live in West Dorset and we are unaffected by the madness.

  7. Sea_Warrior
    December 16, 2022

    This morning I heard Bailey claiming that the tight labour market was one of the drivers of the inflation he was trying to fight. Although average wages are rising at 6%/year, below inflation, ‘benefits’ are being raised by 10% – and that’s down to politicians. I gather than 5 million are now on ‘out of work’ benefits. That figure needs reducing.
    P.S. Had a chat with one of the staff at my local yesterday. Though she’s nearing retiring age, she works 3 jobs in an effort to keep her head above water. The Bank’s raising of interest rates won’t affect affluent me but it will be another kick in the teeth for the likes of her. Next year, the Chancellor needs to start tackling the problem of ‘fiscal drag’.

    1. a-tracy
      December 16, 2022

      5.5 million people on benefits, Working age benefits cost Ā£87.4bn 2021/22. Universal credit costs Ā£40.6bn of this. 4 in 10 working people get it (they don’t say whether that is because they do less than 20 hours per week). 2.6m people on Pip. ESA for people unable to work Ā£12.7bn.

      On 1 Oct 2010 NMW (now called NLW) was Ā£5.93 per hour
      Oct 2022 NLW is Ā£9.50 per hour >Up 60.2%
      Next April, it is going up 10% to Ā£10.49 to push up these pay differential demands.

      The personal allowance has increased from:
      Tax 2010-11 Ā£6475 now 2022-23 Ā£12570 >94.1%
      NI 2010-11 Ā£5720 now 2022-23 Ā£12570 >119.7%

      1. Mickey Taking
        December 16, 2022

        the Personal allowance should have gone up much more to stop people on really low incomes, pensions etc paying Income tax. The tables can easily be adjusted to recover the criminal taxation collected, which pushed people into benefits anyway! So we collect income tax, create benefit claims, employ staff and pay people that way !! Really clever thinking …doh!

  8. No Longer Anonymous
    December 16, 2022

    https://order-order.com/2022/12/13/new-mrp-poll-shows-rishi-to-lose-seat/

    Look at that map. Just look at it !

    You were gifted an 80 seat majority to get on with it… not to bang on about ‘borrowed Red Wall’ votes and then turn into the Labour Party.

    No trade in this country is more in need of reform and change in pay, conditions and working practices than the political trade and particularly the Tory side of things.

    Not just useless but fatally useless.

    1. Bryan Harris
      December 16, 2022

      +1
      Never has a wipeout of this nature been more deserved – The successive Tory PMs over the last decade and more have done more damage to our country than even Blair did.

      When a PM loses an election, that would be the time to assess his actions while in power – openly and with hindsight – abuses should be rewarded accordingly.

    2. MWB
      December 16, 2022

      If the Tory defeat comes about, it will be richly deserved, because they have betrayed the English People. What is depressing though are the numbers of people who would still vote Tory, and even more depressing is that so many would flock to Labour. What have Labour ever done for the English People ?
      The country and the moronic electorate, deserve their fate.

      1. Bryan Harris
        December 16, 2022

        @MWB +1

        Yes – You said it.

        …and I want to see real accountability!

  9. R.Grange
    December 16, 2022

    We keep hearing in Sir John’s posts about ‘The Bank’. I think it’s time to know about the people behind that lofty abstraction, and not just Andrew Bailey. As well as its governors, the BoE has 19 executive directors, they say on their web site. I took a look at some of them. Here’s one: Stephen Brown, Executive Director, Risk. His job appears to be taking responsibility for risk management. But his web page mentions another responsibility he has: ‘Stephen champions our work on staff inclusion and actively supports our internal diversity networks.’ I do hope he finds time to give sufficient attention to the financial matters that the BoE is supposed to be there to deal with.

  10. BOF
    December 16, 2022

    Energy is the main driver of inflation, the single biggest increased cost to consumer and business, and main driver of inflation.

    Cheap reliable energy using the abundant UK resources is the best route back to lower inflation. That requires a return to sanity and abandonment of climate religion.

  11. Barrie Emmett
    December 16, 2022

    Sadly Bailey has/is not fit for purpose.

    1. Donna
      December 16, 2022

      Correct. So why hasn’t he been sacked?

  12. George Sheard
    December 16, 2022

    All these measures by the bank and the treasury are to keep the woking TAX paying workers of this country in their place

  13. Sea_Warrior
    December 16, 2022

    Two MPC members appear to be foreign nationals – one of whom is a ‘fierce critic of Brexit’; another has as many passports as Jason Bourne. Why is it thought necessary to have foreigners guiding our economy? Are there no spare bankers in the City?

    1. turboterrier
      December 16, 2022

      Sea Warrior
      Just checking you meant to type spare bankers?!!

      1. Mickey Taking
        December 16, 2022

        more than enough of all categories !

      2. Mike Wilson
        December 17, 2022

        Indeed. Rhyming slang leapt to mind.

  14. Bill Smith
    December 16, 2022

    Sir JR

    This is a totally biased account of what the BoE is doing a lot of other central banks are fighting similar high inflation rates. Your idea of raising interest rates earlier as they did in Hungary, Canda and Chile has not kept inflation down. nor is the bank trying to generate recession but trying to fight inflation and at the same time trying to get out of the recession.
    Try to be a bit more balanced and less biased in your views, it does not come across as very informed

    Reply Try understanding my critique. China/ Japan kept money and credit under control so little inflation. B of E should learn

    1. a-tracy
      December 16, 2022

      Can you explain more Bill please? Canada also has an inflation rate of 2% target.

      A quick check on Canada’s interest rate reveals it increased in December 2022 to 4.25%. It was already increased seven times this year: 0.25% Feb 2022; 0.5% Mar 2022; 1% Apr 2022; 1.5% Jun 2022; 2.5% Jul 2022; 3.25% Sept 2022; 3.75% Oct 2022
      Canada’s inflation seems to have held down better than ours.

      Canada inflation 3.4% 2021 / November 6.4% 2022 average 6.85%
      UK inflation 2.588% 2021 / November 10.672% 2022 average 9%

  15. Sharon
    December 16, 2022

    ā€œTo learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticise.ā€ Voltaire

    Looking at the various comments here and JRā€™s blog, I was reminded of the above saying. Well, the government is criticised all the timeā€¦.so itā€™s probably not them. So why then is no-one criticising the B of E? A good question!

    1. Nottingham Lad Himself
      December 16, 2022

      Sir John does exactly that repetitiously here, along with others of his cult.

      What do you mean?

      1. Mickey Taking
        December 16, 2022

        So you are happy with our Fiscal and Banking governing?

    2. Bill B.
      December 16, 2022

      Sharon, we are not allowed to criticise civil servants, for the simple reason that they aren’t named.

      So if Voltaire was right, they’re the ones that rule over us.

      Which is what we thought already, isn’t it?

  16. AncientPopeye
    December 16, 2022

    BoE has been a total disaster since Mervyn King without doubt.

  17. Donna
    December 16, 2022

    Q1. Why is the BoE deliberately causing a recession?
    A1. Because that’s what the WEF wants. You can’t “Build Back Better” unless you first destroy everything (and that includes the currency and economy).

    Q2. Why is the Government deliberately creating expensive, unreliable energy and failing to provide energy security?
    A2. See answer (1) above.

    Q3. Why has the Government handed out one million legal visas in one year and shipped-in 50,000 criminal migrants?
    A3. See answer (1) above.

    Q4. Why is the Government still coercing people to take “vaccines” which are now proven to be dangerous?
    A4. See answer (1) above.

    Q5. Why are we being subjected to relentless “woke” propaganda, critical race theory and race-based gaslighting?
    A5. See answer (1) above.

    1. Mickey Taking
      December 16, 2022

      I must admit I have been out that much but have not noticed people being frogmarched to have a vaccine injected.

      1. Donna
        December 16, 2022

        So you missed the coercion and the mandates.

        1. hefner
          December 17, 2022

          Donna, could you be more explicit about ā€˜coercionā€™ and the ā€˜mandatesā€™. I would agree with MT: in December2020 I had indeed been contacted by my surgery with information about when to get a vaccine, but nobody came to bring me to the surgery. Did somebody (the police?) force you to a vaccination centre?

    2. Bill brown
      December 16, 2022

      Sir JR

      The structure and demographics of both the Chinese and Japanese economies are very different and the consumers have a much smaller part of GDP for private consumption. Not very easy to compare.
      The Swiss example is linked to a much higher value of the Swiss Franc

    3. Bill Brown
      December 16, 2022

      Lynn Atkinson

      No EU institutions will be abandoned

    4. Bill Brown
      December 16, 2022

      Donna

      What a load of absolute nonsense

      1. Peter2
        December 16, 2022

        You are getting very excited eubilly
        Do calm down.

        1. hefner
          December 17, 2022

          Oh hello P2, another of your brilliant contributions to a ā€˜decent debateā€™, eh?

  18. James Freeman
    December 16, 2022

    It may be time to get yourself elected onto the Treasury Select Committee. Or find an ally on it to ask some of these questions.

  19. Roy Grainger
    December 16, 2022

    Why no criticism of the BoE ? Because the Conservative government selected and appointed Andrew Bailey so any criticism of him is by extension criticism of themselves. He was hopeless at the FCA so it’s not as if it is a surprise he is hopeless at the BoE.

    To your list of countries who have controlled inflation much better than UK you could actually add France, the highest rate there was only 6.2%. South Korea highest 6.3%. And many other examples.

  20. Denis Cooper
    December 16, 2022

    Briefly off topic, Rishi Sunak is in Northern Ireland today, and perhaps somebody will show him this powerful letter from an active unionist, James Bryson, in the Belfast News Letter and ask him to comment:

    https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/opinion/jamie-bryson-belfast-court-ruling-shows-how-the-union-is-subjugated-by-the-northern-ireland-protocol-3956089

    “Jamie Bryson: Belfast court ruling shows how the Union is subjugated by the Northern Ireland Protocol”

    “The high court has held that for the purposes of the relevant protocol regulation, where it says ā€˜UKā€™, this is to be interpreted as meaning ā€˜GBā€™, with NI instead being treated as the entry point into the EU. Put simply; Northern Ireland in practice is to be treated as part of the EU rather than the UK.”

    As pointed out at the time:

    http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2022/11/23/do-not-sell-the-bonds-at-a-loss-my-speech-on-the-autumn-statement/#comment-1357223

    Rishi Sunak himself did that in his speech to the CBI.

  21. Cuibono
    December 16, 2022

    I saw a low paid worker yesterday.
    Only thingā€¦he didnā€™t have a job!
    His face was whiter than usualā€¦pinched with the cold..his cheeks unshaven.
    He was begging.
    I gave him a tenner. He seemed pleased.
    I donā€™t care how he spends the money. Booze, drugs, food whatever.
    Because he and his like donā€™t have long for this world.

  22. Julian Flood
    December 16, 2022

    BOF above suggssrz the solution is cheap energy and abandoning the suicidal Net Zero policy. Alas, climate hysteria has deep roots with twenty years of hellfire preaching by everyone from teenage dropouts to the unelected and STEM-illiterate Climate Change Committee, not to mention the very un-British government Nudge Unit. The resistance to abandoning the road to disaster would be almost insurmountable. There is, however, a way to do it.

    First, frack. There are people and organisations which claim that shale gas won’t work in the UK : let’s give those rigs standing idle in the US, thanks to Biden’s anti-gas policies, every encouragement to relocate here. If the preliminary indications from test drills are correct then the UK could be self-sufficient in gas within five years. (See Eagle Ford.)

    Net Zero goals achieved from this policy: convert all space heating etc from oil/coal to lower carbon gas; use gas in cars, trains, lorries; stop burning coal for base load; close Drax.
    (fearful of losing connection I’ll now post this and start afresh.)

    JF

    1. Julian Flood
      December 16, 2022

      (cont.)

      Using the money made from gas sales (Germany would welcome gas from the UK and be suitably grateful, France would be a bit French but would accept our surplus) we could the treat the ‘climate crisis’ seriously and go all out for RR small reactors. By 2035 we will be phasing out gas usage while still enabling Germany to reduce its lignite burning. And keep the lights on in France which would incur their undying gratitude.

      It’s politics, giving the green hairshirters an acceptable line of retreat from their obviously disastrous current stance.

      JF

      1. Mike Wilson
        December 17, 2022

        And keep the lights on in France which would incur their undying gratitude.

        I think not. We saved them from the Nazi occupation and theyā€™ve hated our guts ever since.

  23. turboterrier
    December 16, 2022

    When if ever are the two sides of this ongoing circus performance going to held responsible and accountable for this continuing mayhem?
    Can anyone in their right mind believe that they are fit for purpose and justify their salaries?

  24. Bloke
    December 16, 2022

    A responsible Chancellor of the Exchequer should control our economy. Assigning some other incompetents at the Bank of England to control inflation is tantamount to appointing arsonists in charge of petrol stations.

  25. Lynn Atkinson
    December 16, 2022

    As JR includes ā€˜Russiaā€™s aggressive actionā€™ in the list of thing driving inflated prices, I bring good news. Russia this morning within a single hour launched 72 ballistic missiles. The MOD said yesterday they are almost out of ammo, so that should be their last throw šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚ unless the MOD has the same quality personnel as the BOE/Treasury. In which case expect a major action to bring this war to an end, which is what the Russians want.

  26. Stred
    December 16, 2022

    As far as can see from this blog the BoE is staffed from top to bottom with incompetent woke Remainer Weffys recruited by each other as academics and failed civil servants, the worst of which is the dozy previous head of the FCA.
    Things won’t get any better until there is a mass clear out and a 90% tax on their undeserved gold plated pensions.

  27. Original Richard
    December 16, 2022

    A general inflation rate of around 10% is nothing compared to the massively increased cost of electrical energy deliberately engineered by restricting the supplies of our own oil and gas.

    As I write the National Grid is showing a price of Ā£698/MWhr, over 12 times the price it was when we were using mainly gas and before the big push to transition to the expensive and intermittent wind energy which is currently providing just 3.4GW, 7.8% of demand, from an installed capacity of 27GW. So quadrupling the wind would only bring us to 31% of demand.

    We have a Government, Parliament, civil service, quangoos and institutions who are determined to destroy our country.

    Economically with the Net Zero Strategy and culturally through massive legal and illegal immigration.

    1. Hope
      December 16, 2022

      +1

    2. Ian B
      December 16, 2022

      @Original Richard +1 You get the feeling the rest of the World is able to laugh at the UK, they (the UK Citizens) have elected people that see punsihment as a means of control. Boris Johnson saw net zero not as an asperation but a race, The rest of the World? They keep their economies going, they ensure there own resilience and are pleased the UK Government is crippling an entire people so that it doesn’t compete. A self inflicted disaster

  28. Bryan Harris
    December 16, 2022

    Isn’t this yet another situation where Parliament is not stamping its authority on the quangos?

    When is HMG going to take full control?
    We may have left the EU, but the tail is still wagging the dog.

    1. Ian B
      December 16, 2022

      @Bryan Harris – You have to wonder why we pay any of them, they donā€™t seem to understand what they were elected to do. Then you have to ask are they(Government) stealing our money as taxpayers under false pretences.

  29. Lester_Cynic
    December 16, 2022

    Still banging on about the war in Ukraine?
    Watch Alex Christoforou on YouTube for the real story
    Its been going on since 2014 and itā€™s costing us billions, now thereā€™s a saving, also weā€™re supposed to be developing a new fighter jet in association with Italy and Japan, the Tempest, how are we going to pay for that?

    1. Bryan Harris
      December 16, 2022

      ….. the Tempest, how are we going to pay for that?

      Indeedy

      The West ignored Russian concerns about Ukraine until Russia was forced to act, to secure its border and to stop the slaughter of Russian descendants in Ukraine.

      Why are we wasting so much money on this insane war — We should be asking what the Americans have to lose, especially the Democrats, by keeping this war going?

      1. Mickey Taking
        December 16, 2022

        I hadn’t known that Ukraine were readying to mount an invasion through the border with Russia, but never crossed it. So Russia decided to send an army 5 times that of Ukraine, invading it and sending thousands of missiles across the country hundreds of miles from a border. At least they have probably stopped the slaughter of Russian descendants in Ukraine, there wasn’t any.!

        1. Lester_Cynic
          December 16, 2022

          MT

          You shouldnā€™t believe the MSM and government line about the war in Ukraine
          Putin warned NATO what would happen if they tried to expand to the Russian border and they ignored him, the war has been going on since 2014, I bet that the Russians donā€™t have to think twice before switching the heating on
          I watch RT on Rumble, why did the government ban RT from Freeview, because they were afraid that the public would be able to the truth
          The MOD saying that the Russians are running out of missiles and ammunition but ignoring the fact that they can manufacture more, theyā€™re a superpower and they arm many countries around the world

          1. Mickey Taking
            December 17, 2022

            Iran is supplying the Russians.

          2. Mickey Taking
            December 17, 2022

            When did Ukraine join NATO – I missed that!

        2. Clough
          December 17, 2022

          It’s quite something to pack as many falsehoods into just four lines as you’ve done here, MT! In case you’d like to know the truth, try looking at the OSCE reports on the slaughter in the Donbas since 2015, available online.

          1. Mickey Taking
            December 17, 2022

            Its quite something to call out 4 falsehoods without naming, evidencing even one!

    2. Clough
      December 16, 2022

      All wars end with peace talks of some kind. We should be striving to get those negotiations sorted now, on the best possible terms for Ukraine, before things get so bad that only full-scale war with Russia would allow Ukraine a chance to survive. And even this British government has the sense to realise going down that route might be terminal.

  30. a-tracy
    December 16, 2022

    Acorn, you talk about energy inflation, but why did we sell it to the EU so cheaply all this year? Surely it was a sellers market?

    1. Ian B
      December 16, 2022

      @a-tracy – and why did we leave our resources in the ground, so we could import the same. Why did we impose extra taxes on energy consumption. Why did the Labour Party say the UK would never need nuclear power so sold the UK capability to Toshiba, why do we now have to buy the exact same from the French State, the list goes onā€¦.
      Incompetence remains a core feature of UK Governments and those departments they manage. Energy inflation is a Government imposed option

    2. a-tracy
      December 16, 2022

      Massive gas storage areas were built nearby since 2014 in a multi million pound investment deal. They have also built hydrogen storage. There was loads of disruption to the local roads for years.

    3. anon
      December 17, 2022

      Or we could fire up the coal burners while we have them, and direct that gas demand saved to the reserves. Lets face it they want rid of them and you can freeze or payup.

  31. JohnE
    December 16, 2022

    China appears to have abruptly abandoned their zero covid policy without any improvements in vaccination efficacy or coverage.
    The experience from Hong Kong and Taiwan points to a likely death rate around 0.2%. So 3 million deaths, and significant further economic disruption.

    We already have a severe shortage of antibiotics here that has roots in the disruption of the Chinese supply of the active pharmaceutical ingredients. I spent all of Tuesday morning driving around different pharmacies in Wokingham and Reading to find one that could fill my 3 year old granddaughter’s prescription.

    So I fear we will soon be finding out how many lessons have been learnt in securing our supply of essential medicines and drugs. Is there any reason to think that anything at all has been done?

    1. Original Richard
      December 16, 2022

      JohnE :

      They want us to be dependent upon China for everything, not only essential medicines and drugs.

      Starting with our electrical energy by 2035 and then all our energy by 2050 by relying upon coal-fired China to supply all the wind turbines, solar panels and raw materials, if not the actual goods, for batteries, motors and generators.

      And since the intention is to close down all fossil fuels, the essential hydrocarbon chemicals for pharmaceuticals, plastics, electronics, cleaning products, household, commercial and industrial goods etc. together with making energy intermittent and expensive, we will become an industrial and social backwater dependent upon China and the RoW.

      We shall be sacrificed at the alter to placate those whose religion believes the gods will turn the Earth into the burning Hell if we do not zero our 1% contribution to the inevitable rising levels of the life giving and life supporting gas known as CO2.

      PM Johnson : UN speech 22/09/2021 :

      ā€œWe started this industrial revolution in Britain: we were the first to send the great puffs of acrid smoke to the heavens on a scale to derange the natural order.ā€

      UK CO2 bad, Chinese CO2 good.

  32. Bert Young
    December 16, 2022

    I put the blame on the Government / Treasury for allowing the BoE to operate the way it does . The BoE should be in a sub-servient state to the economic management of the country . As it stands outside bodies over-influence central decision making ; the present Chancellor is held to ransom and can only announce to the public after these bodies have gone public ; who is running the country ?.

    1. Ian B
      December 16, 2022

      @Bert Young – “Chancellor is held to ransom” but he (the Chancellor) along with his boss the PM are the CEO’s/Top line managers of these entities, they alone tell them what to do on our behalf. Any faults, problems, missteps from these sections of the State are 100% down to these individuals in Government. We pay them to do just that and they make our money(Government do not have there own money) available so as they can operate

  33. Mickey Taking
    December 16, 2022

    OFF TOPIC.
    Peak fares on ScotRail are to be suspended for six months in a bid to make train travel more affordable.
    The pilot scheme will begin in April next year and will be subsidised by Ā£15m from the Scottish government’s latest budget. The move will see the cost of some peak hour, or anytime, ScotRail fares nearly halve.
    Unions and passenger groups have welcomed the plan as a way of coaxing people back to the railways.
    Deputy First Minister John Swinney made the announcement in his 2023/24 budget statement, saying that removing peak time fares was “a way of making rail travel more affordable and attractive to travellers”.
    Full details of the pilot project for the publicly-owned train operator will be announced as part of Transport Scotland’s Fair Fares Review due to be published early next year.
    ScotRail and other train operators have still to see passenger numbers return to pre-Covid levels with changes in working patterns resulting in peak time services being less busy.
    [traveller numbers must be low if Ā£15m is all it needs]

    1. a-tracy
      December 16, 2022

      ScotRail Trains Limited is owned by the Scottish Government and overseen by Scottish Rail Holdings Limited (SRH Ltd).

      In England I believe there is a bus initiative – Supporting the Government’s Ā£2 fare initiative in the new year, encouraging all operators to take part to make bus travel a mode of choice for the many in the borough and not the few; for employment, education and leisure. Problem is they just didn’t run the buses for 6 weeks this summer, not a one.

  34. Ian B
    December 16, 2022

    The way I understand it Gordon Brown had to introduce independence at the Bank of England, because of his and the Treasuries failure under his management to do the job properly.

    The Office for Budget Responsibility(OBR) was set up be George Osbourne to assess the Countries budgetary situation due to his management failure of the Treasury.

    Jeremy Hunt has now set about creating his own independent advisory panel due to the failures of his office, the Treasury and the Bank of England.

    Does anyone see a pattern? Prior to these additional fudges the UK had worked well for Generations. What appears to be happening is massive ā€˜virtue signallingā€™ because of endless Government failures to manage. We keep getting so-called chancellors of the Exchequer that fail in their management ability of their own department- the Treasury. We now have at least 4 tribes fighting because of the failure of Governments.

    To repeat the common theme for all the UKā€™s woes, it is intended the UK is to be a Democracy. The people vote for a representative to protect their interest, protect, provide resilience etc and the quid-pro-quo is the people lend Parliament the powers to appoint a Government to Manage all affairs of the Country. What keeps coming back to bite us mere mortals is the refusal of Government to manage, refusal of Government to ensure proper responsibility for the money they take from us, i.e. Government is now just there to give the media sound-bites and ā€˜virtue signalā€™. Do we the people need any of these Governments, do we need to be wasting our money this way?

    1. hefner
      December 17, 2022

      On 6 May 1997 G.Brown announced its intention of giving the BoE its independence. He had been Chancellor for five days. The Bank of England Act 1998 came into force on 01/06/1998.

      ā€˜Prior to these additional fudges the UK had worked well for generationsā€™: so no Suez crisis in 1956, no inflation above 15% between 1974 and 1977 nor in 1980, no calling the IMF in 1976.

      The past for people of a ā€˜certain ageā€™ has always been better than the present ā€¦

      1. Peter2
        December 20, 2022

        Suez and oil provoked domestic inflation had little to do with the Bank of England
        Independent or not.

  35. Ian B
    December 16, 2022

    Sir John, thank you as always good observation of the deteriorating state of Government.

    In recent days we have learnt, the UK Parliament sees it is unfit to create, amend or repeal Laws that pertain to the UK and the CEO/Management of the UK ā€“ its so-called Government agrees.

    It would appear that the Treasury, The Bank of England, the OBR and so on do not work for the UK, they have no responsibility to the UK but expect, no demand, the taxpayer funds their life styles and blunders. The overall CEO/Management of these entities the Government also sees it is nothing to do with them. The Governments only duty is to keep demanding more and more taxes. Do we need as a Democracy to be governed in this way, do we need this sort of Parliament? Why are we forced to hand over our taxes, and make sacrifices to be able to do so?

    In a similar vein this was picked up by Neil Record (Chairman of the Institute of Economic Affairs, and a former Bank of England economist) in the Telegraph -https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/12/14/made-appalling-mistake-bank-england-needs-188bn-bailout0/

  36. Mickey Taking
    December 16, 2022

    OFF TOPIC.
    Lynch suggested rail disruption between 24 and 27 December would be “minimal”.
    I checked to see if we could travel by rail on the ‘Waterloo line’ to Clapham Jcn.

    No travel 25th and 26th.
    On 23rd 24th & 27th 28th ‘INDUSTRIAL ACTION REDUCED SERVICE ā€“ Only travel if absolutely necessary.
    So thats minimal.

  37. MWB
    December 16, 2022

    Off topic, but I read that the Adam Smith Institute wants to stop amyone with more than Ā£1 million from getting the paid for state pension.
    What is the Conservative party policy on this ?

    Reply The state pension is an earned entitlement from NI . The Conservatives have no plans to change this.

    1. a-tracy
      December 16, 2022

      Ā£1m of what pension savings? Because that would include an awful lot senior civil servants. Any civil servant retiring on Ā£40k pa with spousal transfer would have over Ā£1m pot. Or do they get an exemption?

      Or a Ā£1m home in London and the SE or anywhere else for that instance, do they add all the BTL properties together?

      What is the point of doing well, did you see the article in the FT about all the 30 wealthiest people in Norway leaving because their new lefty government put in a wealth tax. Bye bye all their taxes theyā€™ve taken them all away šŸ’„ šŸ¤Æ.

  38. Trod
    December 16, 2022

    Some argue for the abolition of the central bank entirely, because they have made such a hash of it. Let the markets decide what the interest rates should be.

  39. The PrangWizard
    December 16, 2022

    No call for anyone to resign, so the same old people will continue in post and make more mistakes.

    You ask why the bank didn’t take decisive action soon enough, why don’t you?

  40. glen cullen
    December 16, 2022

    Since 2010 has this Tory government repealed any Labour Party, International or EU laws of any ā€˜significanceā€™ ā€“ eg Climate Change Act 2008, ECHR 1951, Modern Slavery Act 2015, Bank of England Act 1998 and The Value Added Tax Act 1983
    We need a party of reform

  41. Iain Gill
    December 16, 2022

    forget it John, nobody but nobody is going to vote Conservative.

    the immigration situation is now completely ridiculous

    stop wasting your time

    just give up

    1. glen cullen
      December 16, 2022

      Have to agree

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