After yet another dreadful week, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves must be praying the Bank of England helps her out by cutting interest rates tomorrow. It would reduce the huge amount of interest the government has to pay, it would put more money in people’s pockets, and it might even stimulate growth. The trouble is, the Bank’s governor, Andrew Bailey, can’t afford to bail Reeves out of the hole she has dug for herself. If the Bank does, it will be risking its independence.

Even the City’s experts have no clear idea what the Bank will decide on interest rates this week. The markets have priced in a one in three chance of a cut, rising to a two in three chance of a cut by the end of the year. On Polymarket, the predictions market that is popular among traders, the overwhelming consensus is th

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