Chancellor must boost spending to prevent recession after risky rate rise - TUC

Commenting on today’s decision by the Bank of England to raise the base rate by 0.5 percentage points, TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: 

“The IMF’s recession forecast for the UK should have been cause for caution. But the Bank has taken a very big risk by pushing rates up. And if we spend this year in recession, working people will pay a high price.

“The Chancellor now bears responsibility for keeping us out of recession. He must respond at next month’s budget with an urgent spending boost to keep the UK economy moving and to keep people’s jobs safe. And he should start with funding for public sector pay rises that keep up with the cost of living.”