Here we go again. The Bank of England raising the base interest rate, the magical solution to inflation that they learned long ago, irrespective of the causes of that inflation (Record UK pay growth adds to pressure for interest rate rise, 11 July) and the workers, trying to survive, get the blame.
It is obvious that there are three major causes of our present inflation. First, Liz Truss’s disastrous imposition of her own magical solution, as she had been taught by the Institute of Economic Affairs, “trickle down and the market will fix everything”. This led to the world financiers losing confidence in Britain. Now, we are told, we can only regain that confidence by the government ensuring that the majority find it very difficult to afford to feed their families.
The second and biggest cause is the war in Ukraine, enabling the greedy oil and gas industry and the even greedier four or five world dominating food wholesalers to amass huge and unearned profits without any windfall taxes or controls.
And third, the Bank itself applying the only idea they have, raising the base rate time and time again, despite the fact that it isn’t working, it can have no influence on the war and it is bringing misery to millions of mortgage holders.
Michael McLoughlin
Wallington, London
• Neither the chancellor Jeremy Hunt, nor the governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, has ever explained how it is that my state pension increase of 10% is non-inflationary, but my daughter’s NHS pay claim is somehow stoking inflation (No extra money for public sector pay rises, Jeremy Hunt tells ministers, 11 July). Surely it’s nothing to do with me being perceived as a more likely Tory voter than my daughter?
While he’s about it, Mr Bailey might also want to explain why his own inflation-busting pay increase is also non-inflationary.
Alan Whitehouse
Barnsley, South Yorkshire
