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Exclusive: Brits’ patience with Bank of England and Bailey wears thin amid historic inflation crunch

Headline inflation has come down significantly from peaks of more than 11 per cent, currently standing at four per cent.
Headline inflation has come down significantly from peaks of more than 11 per cent, currently standing at four per cent.

Brits’ patience with the Bank of England is wearing thin amid the worst inflation crunch in recent history, exclusive figures obtained by Morning Wire reveal.

Some 44 per cent of households are unhappy with Threadneedle Street’s performance over the last year which has seen inflation soar from 2.1 per cent in May 2021 to a four decade high of 9.1 per cent in May 2022, according to a survey of 1,000 people by Appinio.

The Bank has a mandate to keep inflation at two per cent. The cost of living is forecast to top 11 per cent – more than five times that target – in October.

Over half of Brits do not know who Andrew Bailey, the Bank’s chief, is.

Bailey’s lack of recognition comes despite him signing off a £200,000 payment to a communications agency to help define the Bank’s “essence”.

Rich households are the most likely to support the Bank and Bailey. Nearly one fifth of people earning over £100,000 think Bailey, 63, has done well since he succeeded Canadian Mark Carney in March 2020 as the Bank’s governor.

Across the UK, 37 per cent of people are satisfied with the Bank. Of those that are aware of him, 48 per cent approve of Bailey.

The governor ignited a furore earlier this year when he pleaded with workers to temper wage demands to prevent high inflation from embedding in the economy despite himself earning a remuneration package worth nearly £600,000. 

He has refused a pay rise for three consecutive years.

The Bank has raised interest rates at each of its last five meetings, taking them from a record low of 0.1 per cent to a 13-year high of 1.25 per cent.

The governor will participate in a panel on Wednesday in which he is expected to explain how monetary policy can respond to greater economic uncertainty.

Appinio’s research illustrates the pressure rampant inflation is putting on household balance sheets.

Some 60 per cent of households have raided their savings to pay bills and maintain spending. Seven in 10 people have cut unnecessary purchases In a sign the UK is headed for a recession soon. 

Experts have warned households responding to high inflation by reducing spending may send the economy into reverse.

The Bank of England declined to comment.