The Telegraph, September 11, Roger Bootle
Economists don’t usually put much store by dates but this week sees the 30th anniversary of one of the most important days in recent economic history, namely September 16th 1992. On that fateful Wednesday, sterling was ejected from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), which tied the pound to other European currencies, with enormous economic and political consequences, some of which we are still living with today.
The events of that day were dramatic. Interest rates went up twice, first from 10pc to 12pc and later from 12pc to 15pc. Across the country, people panicked. Many mortgage holders, appalled at the realisation that they couldn’t possibly keep up their mortgage payments, posted the keys to their properties through the doors of their mortgage lenders.
Click here to read the piece in full.