After the recent ‘climate crisis’ of an ‘extreme’ summer, there’s a definite chill in the air and it’s not just the weather. Economic data screams out ‘recession’ (though hopefully not its uglier twin, ‘depression’) as the country heads inexorably towards the bottom of the financial Marianna Trench. Portents are ominous – the BoE has yanked interest rates up from around their ankles, mortgage providers are increasing their lending rate and pulling some of their historic fixed-rate products, and ONS figures showed inflation hit 10.1 per cent in July – up from June’s 9.4 per cent.

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