Andrew Bailey’s wage restraint call is not a forecast of 1970s-style inflation

Analysis: job vacancies are high but unions are weaker now - few sectors have enough post-Covid muscle to win big rises

• Governor criticised for asking workers not to demand pay rise

Andrew Bailey wants British workers to think again when they ask for an inflation-busting wage rise. I'm not saying nobody gets a pay rise, don't get me wrong, but I think, what I am saying, is we do need to see restraint in pay bargaining otherwise it will get out of control," the Bank of England governor told BBC radio.

With inflation already high and soaring skywards to more than 7%, Bailey was warning that Thursday's increase in interest rates to 0.5% would be the first of many if workers did start a rush of demands for double-digit wage increases.