DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Now let's turbocharge growth with tax cuts trends now
Cast your mind back exactly a year.
Amid the fallout from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the Bank of England was warning that Britain faced its longest recession on record.
Mercifully – and not for the first time – governor Andrew Bailey ended up with egg on his face. Showing admirable resilience, the UK economy has defied the doomsday predictions and avoided a slump.
Good news, certainly, but it's still too early for Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to hand out the cigars.
True, the Bank voted yesterday to hold the interest base rate at 5.25 per cent, rather than hike it. Many economists now think it has finally peaked.
Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England, during the Bank of England Monetary Policy Report press conference on Thursday
Pictured: Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt
This will come as a relief to those seeking new mortgages and businesses with borrowings.
And yes, inflation is believed to have fallen sharply, easing the cost-of-living burden on families and putting Rishi Sunak on course to meet his target of halving it.
But the growth figures are nothing to brag about. While still outgunning the ailing Eurozone, the economy is expected to flatline next year. With an election looming, that would be disastrous for the Tories.
However, in light of the Bank's appalling track record, can any value be attached to what it says?
Disingenuously, Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves tried to blame our woes on Liz Truss's mini-Budget. How she accounts for interest rates being as high in the US is anyone's guess.
But many voters will inevitably lay responsibility at Downing Street's door.
In his zeal to balance the books, Mr Hunt must somehow turbocharge
