Chris Leslie MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, responding to today’s Bank of England quarterly inflation report, said:

“This report shows why this is no time for complacent and out-of-touch claims from Ministers that the economy is fixed and people are better off.

“While the economy is finally growing again and unemployment is falling, working people are still seeing their living standards squeezed. Pay growth is at a record low and lagging behind inflation and the Bank of England has halved its forecasts for wage growth this year.

“Working people are now over £1,600 a year worse off under the Tories. Labour’s economic plan will make Britain better off and fairer with long-term reforms to make work pay, get more homes built and create more good jobs for the future.”

On interest rates, Chris Leslie said:

“George Osborne has said he is relaxed about a rise in interest rates, but families feeling the squeeze won’t be so laid back at the prospect.

“Interest rate decisions are rightly made by the Bank of England’s independent MPC. But the danger is that George Osborne’s failure to boost housing supply ends up forcing the Bank of England to raise interest rates prematurely to rein in our unbalanced housing market. This would hit millions of families and businesses across the country already struggling with a cost-of-living crisis.”

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