David Ramsden: Shocks, uncertainty and the monetary policy response

Speech by Sir David Ramsden, Deputy Governor for Markets, Banking and Resolution of the Bank of England, at the National Farmers' Union Annual Conference, Birmingham, 22 February 2022.

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

It's a pleasure to be here today and to be speaking at this NFU conference. And a particular pleasure to be able to be here in Birmingham and speaking to you all face to face on behalf of the Bank of England. I know how pleased my late mother would be too: she was born on a mid-Wales hill farm, and throughout her life maintained a strong link to her roots.

These are challenging times for the economy and for the farming industry in particular. The issues you are discussing at this conference – uncertainty, cost pressures, food security and sustainability – are crucial ones for the UK's economic resilience and future prospects.

I recognise that starting the day with a speech on monetary policy may be a bit of a departure from more usual NFU conference topics. But given the current outlook for inflation and the very real challenges that will be posing for many of you I hope you will find it useful. What I want to use my time here today to do is to set out how the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is thinking about the outlook for the economy in the face of the shocks which are impacting it, including my own perspectives as one of the nine members of the MPC, and to explain what actions we are taking in response.