No more bailouts, so Bailey needs to delay a rate hike

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An unfortunate side effect of Covid is that the public has grown accustomed to the idea that government bailouts are there when you need them.

been vacation? We will cover most of your salary. Struggling with mortgage payments? Take a few months off.

Can’t pay taxes? Oh, get a tax break on us.

These were all Rishi Sunak’s schemes when he was a chancellor, and during a pandemic they were vital.

Some of us then wondered what would happen next, when still struggling consumers and homeowners wanted more help that couldn’t actually come.

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Sunak, now the prime minister, said there would be no support for mortgage holders dealing with huge increases in borrowing costs when they come in to renew deals that have suddenly become more expensive.

It’s hard to see how he could have done otherwise, nor where this extra support might stop.

Will it only be for those who are remortgaging this year? What about the folk who are facing similarly large jumps in rent? Will buy-to-let mortgage borrowers qualify as well?

No – the best thing here is for the Bank of England to reverse course and delay a hard-hit rate hike to Thursday.

This could at least give the mortgage and credit bond markets time to catch up and time to reassess.

This would be an obvious standoff for Governor Andrew Bailey, prompting him to barrack further from the stands that he didn’t know what he was doing.

It would also be the right thing to do and the brave thing to do.

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