The neutral rate of interest is being held down by “indebtedness, demographics and the distribution of income”, and central bankers should speak up if they want it to change, Jan Vlieghe said in his final speech as a Bank of England policy-maker.

“The policy implications are even more stark than when I first discussed them nearly six years ago,” Vlieghe said. “We have limited headroom for easing monetary policy, so we will not be able to provide monetary stimulus on the same scale as in