TV presenter Carol Vorderman has hit back at a statement from the Bank of England’s chief economist saying that British people “need to accept” that they are poorer as a result of higher inflation. The 62-year-old, who is currently appearing on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… South Africa, took to social media to share her thoughts on Huw Pill’s comments.
Speaking to the ‘Beyond Unprecedented’ podcast, Mr Pill said: "So, somehow in the UK, someone needs to accept that they're worse off and stop trying to maintain their real spending power by bidding up prices whether through higher wages or passing energy costs on to customers etc.
“What we’re facing now is that reluctance to accept that… we’re all worse off, and we all have to take our share to try and pass that cost on to one of our compatriots, and saying we’ll be alright, but they will have to take our share too. The pass-the-parcel game that’s going on here… is generating inflation, and that part of inflation can persist.”
But Carol hit back on Twitter saying: “BofE Pill: Brits ‘need to accept’ they’re poorer. No. Not while 1/5 bankers remain non-dom, all hedge funds are based in tax havens (Inc Sunak's former fund), private equity firms use loopholes costing £600m/yr, £15bn lost in PPE.
“Gaslighting us all,” she added before being met with several comments agreeing with her. Carol’s reaction comes following news that the rate of price increases has outpaced wage growth for nearly two years, helping fuel the tightest squeeze on living standards in recent memory.
Read more: Inflation drops in latest update - but remains in double figures
“I've said it before, I'll say it again. Don't steal folks, the government hates competition,” wrote one person in response to Carol. A second commented: “Shame they’re not contributing to the trillion pound deficit. After all, they contributed to it in the first place.”
A third wrote: “Indeed. "The number of UK billionaires has increased by a fifth since the onset of the Covid pandemic”, but it’s asylum seekers and NHS workers’ fault. #ToryGaslighting.” And a fourth said: “Up to £52 BILLION lost to fraud now... Not to mention the £70 BILLION lost to the Truss week of doom. And not to mention the hundreds of billions given to energy companies to help the cost of living - that we'll need to pay back, instead of nationalizing them (which is cheaper)”
Inflation has been hanging in the double digits since August last year. It is currently standing at 10.1 per cent, and well above the Bank of England’s two per cent target since the early stages of summer, 2021.
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