Interest rates surge hits younger borrowers as half a million are struggling to pay

The word ‘repossession’ is poised to re-enter the national conversation, writes James Moore

There were almost twice as many repossessions at the end of 2022 as the same period in 2021 (PA)

I wonder if they quietly cheer Swati Dhingra and Silvana Tenreyro down at the Financial Conduct Authority?

The pair are external members of the Bank of England’s rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) and have been its leading doves on interest rates during the current cycle.

Dhingra earlier this week made a forceful case for holding rates, currently at 4 per cent after 10 straight increases. She blamed the surge in inflation, now at 10.1 per cent, on higher energy and import prices, which are out of the Bank’s control, and described evidence for a potential sustained wage-price spiral as “thin”. So we can guess which way her vote is going at the next MPC meeting.