As one correspondent has said:

A new UK record, and it is 100% thanks to the Tories.

Should we all go out in the street and give them a weekly clap to show our appreciation?

Background – the grim view from Threadneedle Street

Without taking into account the chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s likely squeeze on government spending in his budget on 17 November, which could worsen the outlook for economic growth, the Monetary Policy Committee said the economy was already contracting and would continue to shrink for eight consecutive quarters to the summer of 2024 if interest rates continued to rise as financial markets expected.

The Bank expects inflation, which hit 10.1% in September, to peak at 11% by the end of 2022, and then to fall “probably quite sharply” from the middle of 2023.

Consumer spending and business confidence are expected to be hit, leading to a two-year recession that will be longer, if not deeper, than the slump in the 1930s.