Imperial Party forum

thomas davison

Ros Altmann, a financial academic and an adviser to the last government, said: �It is official policy to stop people from saving.�

She said savers faced a three-pronged attack from the authorities. On the one hand the Bank of England was keeping interest rates artificially low, with Bank Rate now at 0.5pc for an unprecedented four years. At the same time the Bank had ploughed ahead with its policy of printing money (also known quantitative easing). This might have helped the economy but had also stoked inflation.

Finally, the Government had introduced its Funding for Lending Scheme . This had provided banks with access to cheap funds to lend to mortgage customers and small businesses. But it had meant they were not so reliant on customers� deposits, causing the rates paid to savers to plunge since the scheme�s launch. The fact that the scheme would now be extended by another year meant there was little light at the end of the tunnel for savers.

Ms Altmann said: �This short-sighted policy is destroying our saving culture. The sooner the authorities stop damaging savers, the better. Low rates in an emergency are one thing, but keeping the policy in place for so long will have damaging consequences for future consumption and growth. Saving is important for all economies, but even more so with an ageing population and over-indebted private and public sectors.�

Mr Mountford added: �It is hard not to conclude that the powers that be don�t want people saving but want their money to be spent on the high street, giving a boost to the economy.

Savings are not worth having as the BOE with its QE or in other words theft, is making your money lose over 2% per year plus inflation.