The Bank of England is determined to prevent a wage-price spiral
Higher inflation is coming. But monetary policymakers are determined to keep it under control
THE GOVERNMENT faces no shortage of crises. As well as the fallout from prime-ministerial parties, it must contend with fizzing inflation of 5.4% in December, the biggest annual increase in almost three decades. Officials are racing for ways to avert a crunch in April, when energy-price rises and higher payroll taxes are due. Public opinion is souring; over half of those polled by YouGov on January 17th thought the government was handling inflation badly, up from a third a year earlier. And on January 27th a report by the Treasury all-party parliamentary committee warned of the potential for a “wage-price spiral”.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Buzzkill”
Britain January 29th 2022
- Boris Johnson, the prime minister who can’t say no
- The Bank of England is determined to prevent a wage-price spiral
- Little sign of compromise over the Northern Ireland protocol
- Britain has long been a leader in genome-sequencing
- Brexit and covid-19 have produced a bigger civil service
- Britain’s newly listed tech firms are taking a beating
- After more than two decades, Britain is finally rid of termites
- Boris Johnson is making boring politics look attractive
From the January 29th 2022 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Britain
Has the Royal Navy become too timid?
A new paper examines how its culture has changed
A plan to reorganise local government in England runs into opposition
Turkeys vote against Christmas
David Lammy’s plan to shake up Britain’s Foreign Office
Diplomats will be tasked with growing the economy and cutting migration
Britain’s government has spooked markets and riled businesses
Tax rises were inevitable. Such a shaky start was not
Labour’s credibility trap
Who can believe Rachel Reeves?