It’s difficult to see what powers we would want to give to the Bank of England that would have an effect on the current drivers of this round of inflation.

If the BoE is going to use interest rates effectively, to curb borrowing and spending, it needs to run hand in hand with a government who are prepared to put a cap on the tax it receives from things like oil. The irony is that as the price of energy rises, so does the amount of VAT that the government receives. This in turn fuels (sorry for the pun) the inflation rate rise.

This does suppose that those who control fiscal policy and those controling monetary policy have some meaningful discussion rather than playing politics.

If you want to read how inflation is driving people out of business take a look at my blog entry Feast or Famine

Completely agree with the sentiment about inflation not being driven by consumerism but by energy prices etc.

Isn’t the issue we have though that the Bank of England have the finger pointed at them to control inflation, and the measures they have to control things are limited to interest rate policy. Its a pretty blunt measure as it affects everyone but doesnt really address the root causes of the inflation.

Should those who control economic policy be looking at other levers to pull other than interest rates alone?