What is the Bank of England’s mandate on inflation and why it matters

The Bank of England has come under growing criticism from Conservative MPs who claim the central bank has been too slow in tackling surging inflation.

Andrew Bailey, the bank’s governor, warned this week consumer price inflation, which already hit a 40-year high of 9.4 per cent in June, will exceed 13 per cent by the end of the year.

Liz Truss, the foreign secretary and frontrunner in the race to become the UK’s next prime minister,…