YP Letters: Blame Mark Carney for sending wrong signals on Brexit vote

THE concern of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) about the availability of high-cost credit vulnerable customers is the fault of the Governor of the Bank of England, Mr Mark Carney.

After the Brexit vote last year, Mr Carney immediately cut the bank rate by 50 per cent to 0.25 per cent and the pound exchange rate dropped by over 10 per cent.

In my opinion, dropping interest rates by 50 per cent at such a low level meant nothing economically; but in political and financial terms sent completely the wrong message to our overseas trading partners and individual borrowers. The impression given would be one of financial fear and uncertainty.

What he should have done is raise the rate to one per cent and given notice to our overseas markets and the United Kingdom that the pound would remain a strong world currency and would be supported under Brexit.

At home, individual debtors would have to realise that cheap credit was going to be reduced and nationally, we should be expected to tighten our belts; ‘save to buy’; and be more prudent about living on other people’s money.

Instead, personal debt has continued to increase above a level at which it was already unsustainable. What we need now is an extended period of prudence – and an immediate rise in interest rates.

From: PJ Blackshaw, Cleckheaton.

HERE we go again. The pathetic whinings of the Remoaners, in the voice of John Cole (The Yorkshire Post, July 28), exemplifies the behaviour of a spoilt child who hasn’t got his own way.

He sensed a different turning of the tide. Well I sensed thunder in the air yesterday but, guess what, it remained warm, dry, and sunny. Will you Remoaners please stick dummies in your mouths, stop sulking and desist from undermining our government’s negotiations on Brexit and show some patriotism by backing Britain instead of 
the EU?

From: Keith Alford, Canterbury Crescent. Sheffield.

NO diatribe against the EU would be complete without reference to the Boris Johnson generated myth of the bendy banana. Yes indeed regulation No 2257/94 did exist to set standards for marketable fruit, but it was not abandoned, being incorporated into regulation No 1333/2011 for greater clarity. The wording remained unchanged and there was never any requirement banning bananas of any curvature from the EU.