Talk of a post-Covid spending spree shows Bank of England is out of touch

Analysis: The governor and chief economist say they expect a consumer boom this year, but others disagree. And the Bank has a record of being too optimistic

Confidence is everything during a recovery. The question is, can Britons shake off their fears of infection and swagger back to work merely by looking in the mirror and telling themselves everything will be OK.

At the Bank of England, some senior staff believe we are all about to do just that. Having looked into their crystal balls they predict that people who have saved their pennies during the pandemic - and many millions of workers and rich retired have done just that - will spend them when the nation is vaccinated.

After the global financial crisis of 2008-09, it took five years for the UK to return to its pre-recession peak