Letter: Stand by for interest rates to go up

Sir: Chancellors of the Exchequer who take inflationary risks with the economy are seldom blamed at the time, so Diane Coyle's observation (1 May) that "Mr Clarke has primed the pump a bit too much ahead of the election" is welcome. In due course, he is sure to join the ranks of Lawson, Barber and Maudling - Chancellors irredeemably associated with excess rather than success.

The money supply (M4) is expanding well outside the Bank of England's monitoring range of between 3 and 9 per cent, so a substantial rise in interest rates is overdue.

W R EYRES

London NW5