'Quantative Easing' And All That...

The Bank of England's move to pump £75bn into the economy over the next three months has received much attention in the national media, but local writers have also been exercised by the decision.

Wokingham MP, John Redwood (who is a respected economic guru for those who believe in the benefits of free trade), is mostly concerned about the undemocratic nature of the decision, which he suggests exposes the politicised role of an officially 'independent' state institution and the panic which exists at the very top of government. However, he is measured in providing his view, stating it may prove to have some positive short-term effect despite substantially increasing the risks in the medium-to-long term.

On the other hand his Conservative party colleague and Reading councillor, Richard Willis, is prepared to jump straight in with two feet to make a preemptive judgement.

Elsewhere, Phill Tomlinson was ahead of the game in providing a useful discussion piece on the pros and cons of such a policy initiative, while Paul Coombes is highly critical of the quality of media reporting.

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Update: Paul Walter presents the case for the defence, as outlined by Will Hutton in The Guardian. Neither of them sound overly convinced.

Melinda Webb gets her figures wrong by a factor of 10 in the local press.