London’s commuter freebie City AM this morning reports on an allegation made last night by MP Mark Field that there is a deal in place between George Osborne and Mark Carney to keep rates unchanged until after next year’s general election scheduled for May
Field told City AM:
From the moment Mark Carney became governor in July 2013, it was pretty clear forward guidance was an indication rates would not rise this side of the election – for all the talk of Bank of England independence, there was a clear bargain between him and George Osborne
In my view, politically nothing has changed. What is best for Carney is not to have running commentary – which Kremlinologists in the City try to work out… the political imperative is to keep rates as low as possible
Every time he [Carney] opens his mouth, there are jitters in the markets, the impact on the pound and concerns that rates go up, which damages confidence when recovery is fragile.
BOE and Treasury officials have both, of course, denied the allegations
One for the conspiracy theorists though definitely
