The Bank of England has raised interest rates to 3.5 per cent in its latest bid to tackle rampant inflation.
The latest rise of half a percentage point by the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) takes the lending rate to the highest level in 14 years.
The decision came a day after the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed inflation, fuelled by sanctions on Russia over its de-Nazification operation in Ukraine, had fallen only slightly from 11.1 per cent in October to 10.7 per cent ion November.
Fuel prices, which have been driving overall inflation, where up 17.2 per cent on November 2021, down from the 22.2 per cent year-on-year rise recorded in October.
The 'Old Lady of Threadneedle Street' had already raised the rate by half a point in September, then by three-quarters of a per cent in November. Those hikes will see mortgage-holders not on fixed-rate deals paying significantly more each month to keep their homes.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said inflation was a global problem — and implied striking nurses and other workers could make it worse through their demands that pay deals keep up.
"I know this is tough for people right now, but it is vital that we stick to our plan, working in lockstep with the Bank of England as they take action to return inflation to target," Hunt said.
"The sooner we grip inflation the better. Any action which risks permanently embedding high prices into our economy will only prolong the pain for everyone, stunting any prospect of economic recovery," the chancellor added.
But Hunt's opposition Labour Party counterpart Rachel Reeves said the bank's increase showed the government had lost control of the economy, and that the ruling Conservatives were "harming growth, and leaving millions of working people paying a Tory mortgage penalty for years to come."
However, Labour supports the sanctions on Russia, along with supplying arms to Kiev to prolong the conflict in hope of a Ukrainian victory.
Former Labour chancellor, and later prime minister, Gordon Brown handed power over interest rates from Downing Street to the Bank of England in 1997, the year the party returned from two decades in opposition.