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The Bank of England “regrettably” made mistakes that have fuelled inflation in the UK, its former chief economist has told Sky News.
Andy Haldane said the Bank had printed money through its programme of quantitative easing “longer than it needed to” as it tried to help the economy recover from COVID – and also suggested it had acted too slowly to increase interest rates.
While inflation has been coming down from its peak of 11.1% last October, the rate of price rises – which was 6.8% in the year to July – remains high and continues to put a major strain on many households amid the cost of living crisis.
Mr Haldane, who stepped down from the Bank in September 2021, also said it was “an evens bet” whether the UK would fall into a recession.
He further criticised what he described as a lack of investment in infrastructure such as hospitals and schools – as highlighted by the classroom concrete crisis this week.
Mr Haldane, who now heads the Royal Society of Arts, made the comments during an interview for Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge, which will be broadcast on Sky News on Tuesday.
When asked about inflation, Mr Haldane said: “It [the Bank of England] kept on printing money for a bit longer than it needed to.
“I think with the benefit of hindsight … we probably did a little bit too much for a little too long. I make no apologies about the greater sway of that easing – that was needed, I think, at the time of COVID to protect jobs and to protect households and to protect businesses.
“But did we persist with that a little longer than we needed to? And did they step on the brakes…
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