BoE deputy governor voted for ‘front-loaded’ tightening to quash wage pressures

Strengthening wage pressures risking further upside inflation surprises led a deputy governor at the Bank of England to vote for a “front-loaded tightening in monetary policy”.

Sir Dave Ramsden, a member of the Bank’s rate setting committee who voted for a 50 basis point rate hike at Threadneedle Street’s last meeting, said yesterday further hikes are coming down the line. 

The Bank has already lifted borrowing costs at back-to-back meetings for the first time since 2004.

However, Ramsden said markets should not expect “anything like [rates at] pre-2007 levels of five per cent or above”.

Businesses are struggling to commit vast sums of investment spending needed to raise productivity levels in the UK economy due to a greater uncertainty about the trajectory of the UK economy, Ramsden said.