Andrew G Haldane: Work, wages and monetary policy

Speech by Mr Andrew G Haldane, Executive Director and Chief Economist of the Bank of England, at the National Science and Media Museum, Bradford, 20 June 2017.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

It is wonderful to be here in Bradford, just a few miles away from where I grew up.  The City has of course a rich commercial history dating from the Industrial Revolution.  Back then, it was a thriving hub for textiles and other manufacturing industries.  The City's architecture bears witness to the rich civic investment that took place around this time, with the public and private sector often working in partnership.  The decline of the UK textiles industry from the mid-20th century was mirrored in Bradford's own fortunes.  Like many industrial cities, Bradford went through a wrenching transition and still bears some of the scars. 

But that retreating tide now seems, decisively, to have turned.  I am delighted to see civic and commercial investment beginning to return to Bradford over the past few years.  Those scars are starting to heal.  Of course, there is plenty still left to do with parts of the City still among the poorest in the UK.  But compared with when I last visited a few years ago, there is now a real sense of opportunity and optimism in Bradford, lifting the spirits of the businesses operating here and the people living here.