STANDING UP FOR THE CITY He could work on the delivery, but Bailey’s warnings were right

SO WAS he right? Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey’s comments that Brits shouldn’t ask for a pay rise looked tin-eared at the time, and it didn’t help when the Bank then upped its bonus pool. But his warnings of a wage price spiral appear to be coming to fruition.

Now, what brought on the wave of criticism was the context: specifically, the fact that the man once nicknamed the “Sexy Turtle” lived up to his moniker by moving at prehistoric pace when inflation red flags began waving at the end of the second lengthy lockdown. He was not helped by the Bank’s forecasters, whose growth UK PLC is currently able to generate.

Panglossian predictions for the economy have proven catastrophically off-beam. What happens now? Well, rate rises.

Monetary policy is a balance, and a full autumn of rate hikes is too much for the economy to bear. Growth is flat. Prospects for growth are minimal. Bailey and the Bank’s errors have got us into a position where they must choose between stagflation and an economy running too hot. Regrettably, the latter is preferable.

SUNAK SELFIE The Prime Minister visited Milton Keynes University Hospital yesterday after announcing plans to pump £250m into the NHS in a bid to tackle record waiting lists

JOE MCDONALD

CHINA’s government has stopped giving an update on a politically sensitive spike in unemployment among young people as official data showed an economic slump deepened in July.

Meanwhile, the central bank unexpectedly cut a key interest rate in a sign of growing official urgency about shoring up economic growth that fell sharply in the three months ending in June.

Youth unemployment is sensitive after a survey in June found a record 21.3 per cent of potential urban workers

No Bank of England governor worth his salt could look at record wage growth –in a low growth economy –and not think something’s up. One more hike seems nailed on. But more than that would risk throttling what little economic