As he commits to stay until 2019, have political attacks on Mark Carney undermined the Bank of England’s independence?

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Kathleen Brooks, research director at City Index, says Yes.

While the Bank of England’s decision-making has not been affected by recent political attacks, the fact that the government thinks that the Bank is fair game for criticism could undermine the perception of the Bank’s independence in future.

Although it’s unlikely that it will take political pressure on board when it decides policy and makes its forecasts, the long-term impact could be more insidious. The government decides appointments to the Bank and the Queen has to approve them. This means that, if the government thinks that the balance of the Monetary Policy Committee is too pro-EU, or too much in favour of QE, it could impact decision-making via the appointments that it recommends in the coming years.

The government may not have the power to influence the Bank in the short term, but it does have the power to determine who is on the Monetary Policy Committee. This in turn could ultimately shift the Bank to its way of thinking over time.

Jason Hollands, managing director of Tilney Bestinvest, says No.

Theresa May’s observation that extreme and unconventional monetary policies have produced some “bad side effects” by fuelling wealth inequality is a statement of fact. It is a view shared by many as QE has become increasingly discredited.

In a free society, policy-makers – whether elected parliamentarians or decision-makers at the Bank of England – should not be immune to scrutiny or criticism. Are broader criticisms of Mark Carney from MPs a threat to the Bank’s independence? I don’t think so, as these are not aimed at the Monetary Policy Committee and the Bank’s processes or mandate but are born of a belief that the governor himself has jeopardised the Bank’s independence by being too close to George Osborne and overstepping the mark during the EU referendum campaign.

However, what is abundantly a threat to the independence of the Bank is Jeremy Corbyn’s call for it to adopt “People’s QE”. That would represent a fusion of fiscal policy and monetary policy and surely signal the death of the Bank of England’s independence.