The Bank of England has increased its main interest rate to 1 percent. It is forecasting inflation of 10 percent this year, driven by soaring energy costs and the rising price of goods. Millions of people are facing a miserable, grinding year as the prices of essentials accelerate far past pay, pensions, or benefits increases. Interest rate rises will do nothing to alter this; more likely, they will simply add to the squeeze of those already in debt — levels of which have also started to rise sharply since the start of the year. And as prices and interest payments rise, spending outside of essentials will fall further, helping tip the economy into a recession.

For some, this will mean being pushed into outright poverty, with the Resolution Foundation think tank forecasting 1.3 million more people forced into absolute poverty over the next twelve months. Reports are already coming in of pensioners skipping meals to cover their heating costs. For those above the poverty line, it will mean a year or more of never quite having enough money — of clawing back on spending outside of the essentials. The summer may provide some respite, as the warm weather reduces the need to heat houses. But by autumn, as the cold weather comes in, and with a forecast £830 rise in average energy bills expected, the situation will be bleak — “horrific,” in the words of Scottish Power’s chief executive.

What beggars belief is that the rate setters at the Bank of England know interest rate rises are not going to work. The inflation we are seeing now is driven by two factors, neither of which will be affected by interest rate rises. One of these was pointed out by Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey in a speech in September last year. He said that an interest rate rise “will not increase the supply of semi-conductor chips, it will not increase the amount of wind . . . and nor will it produce more HGV drivers.”