Andrew Bailey is floundering in the face of soaring inflation

Prices are rising at the fastest pace for 40 years. Real wages are falling rapidly. The cost of servicing the government’s vast debts is escalating, and companies are struggling to keep up with the rising price of raw materials. Still, not to worry. Fortunately, a quarter of a century ago Gordon Brown wisely decided to hand over management of inflation to a supremely competent group of expert technocrats, so that we could have stable prices and steady growth forever – or indeed an ‘end to boom’n’bust’ as Brown would have inevitably put it. Oh, but hold on. It turns out it is not quite going to plan. In fact, while the Bank of England and its increasingly hapless governor Andrew Bailey may not be wholly responsible for the rise in inflation it has started to become painfully clear that he is floundering in the face of it.

This week, speaking at a conference in Vienna, Bailey denied that the Bank’s decision to print billions of newly minted pounds, and to slash interest rates all the way down to close to zero at the height of the pandemic had anything to do with either him or indeed the Monetary Policy Committee.