Where Will The Divided Monetary Policy Committee Go From Here?
There is a clear division in opinion amongst the members of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee. David Blanchflower remains by far the most dovish, as he has consistently voted in favor of rate cuts, and it appears that he may be bringing some other members on to his side, namely John Gieve. However, with UK CPI accelerating much faster than previously expected, Mr. Blanchflower may have difficulty getting other members on board, especially as the Bank of England tends to be one of the more hawkish central banks amongst the G8. David Blanchflower, Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee Member “I think we are going into recession and we are probably in one right now. We will probably have three or four quarters of negative growth, but the risks are to the downside…It’s not too late to stop it, but we have to act right now. Monetary policy has been far too tight for too long. We can’t just sit and do nothing as we have done for too long.” “Our job is to focus on inflation
