Five years of an independent Bank

FEATURE - It is, for the Bank of England, Independence Day. Just five years ago the Bank of England was given its freedom to set monetary policy.

First published in The Independent, UK newspaper, 9 May.

It was a decision, taken in those very first days of the new Labour government, that has been widely applauded - perhaps more so than any other economic decision it has taken.

In fact the Bank's stewardship has been so acclaimed that one of the arguments for not joining the euro would be abandoning

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