Interest rates rise: South Yorkshire police boss speaks out on biggest hike for 27 years

The Bank of England announced last week that interest rates would rise by 1.75 per cent, with inflation likely to hit an eyewatering 13.4 per cent later this year, as the UK faced a recession that could last as long as the 2008 financial crisis.

South Yorkshire PCC Alan Billings has reacted to the news, saying: “The latest figures from the Bank of England make for dismal reading. They suggest that the government has lost control of the economy. This has consequences for public services, including policing.

“It will make it harder to balance the books this year and next. For some time, it has been government policy to shift more of the burden of paying for policing from government grant to

council tax.”

Public services are already stretched after years of cuts and a pandemic, but the current crisis could see essential services pushed to their limits and forced to make cutbacks as the economy spirals.

Mortgages are expected to rise by an average of £650 annually and the Government has been warned that councils cannot be expected to put up council tax to pay for the mistakes made in

Westminster that have allowed inflation to get out of control.

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Mr Billings said: “I am beginning to look at the budget for policing for the year April 2023 to March 2024 and realise that there are limits to what people can be expected to contribute locally.”

Both candidates aiming to become Britain’s next Prime Minister have come under fire for their ‘unrealistic’ plans to get inflation under control, with either Rishi Sunak or frontrunner Liz Truss facing a difficult autumn and winter after taking over from Boris Johnson on September 5.