Economist urges interest rate cuts and reversal of QT

Influenced by the collapse of Silicon Valley bank and the Credit Suisse crisis, Blanchflower, who was on the Bank of England's monetary policy committee in 2008 during the GFC, urged a rethink amid predictions that rates would be increased to 4.25% or remain steady.

Along with fellow economist Richard Murphy, Blanchflower also called for the Bank to stop selling government bonds, reversing quantitative tightening (QT). 

“The Bank of England is showing signs of dangerous groupthink when it comes to QT, believing that it must reverse the previous policy of [quantitative easing (QE)] when they have not as yet offered any credible reason for doing so," The Guardian quotes Blanchflower. “The Bank of England needs to stand back and reappraise its role on the economy. It could use QE over the next few years to be a powerful force for good for the people of the UK, transforming the mortgage, student loan and business investment markets, in the process using new funds created via QE. We urge them to grab this opportunity instead of heading us towards almost inevitable recession or even depression, so severe could the impact of QT be.”

Read more at The Guardian.