£
Hold or
Hike
You are Governor of the Bank of England. It is August 2026:
inflation is 2.6%, unemployment 4.9%, and the Middle East is on fire.
You have five years.
- 1Set Bank Rate each quarter
Anywhere from 0% to 15%. Twenty quarters, then they judge your record.
- 2Hit both targets
Inflation 1–3% and unemployment 3–5%. Both inside, both at once, scores +2 —
and a run of good quarters pays more each time.
- 3Everything arrives late
A rate change bites the following quarter. Hikes cool prices and cost jobs;
cuts do the reverse. Act early or don't bother.
- 4Shocks will find you
Energy crises hit without warning, and a bad one can put inflation into
double digits for years.
- 5The Committee only advises
Eight members tell you what they'd have done. The decision is always yours.
- 6Below 1%, the rate runs out of room
Asset purchases unlock instead: quick to start, slow to stop. The 2008 scenario
is where you will need them.
Advertisement
Inflation
2.6%→
Target 1–3%
Growth
Lasting damage 0.0pp
+1.5% a year
Not scored — but it is what the other two are made of
🏦
Your first meeting
Inflation is 2.6% and drifting. Set Bank Rate — the Committee advises, you decide.
MPC
Eight other members advise. The decision is yours.
Bank Rate3.75%
Holding at 3.75%
Asset purchases£0bn
Effective rate 0.50%