Are Brompton bikes the new Lara Croft?

Just left the Bank of England, where Mervyn King called for ‘higher net exports’ and on my way to Kew Bridge to see how those exports work in action, at the Brompton folding bike company – a rare manufacturing success story in the depths of recession.

A decade ago, during the dotcom boom, then Science Minister Lord Sainsbury extolled the virtues of Lara Croft, the videogame character, as a symbol of Britain’s dominance in high value added ‘weightless’ industries.

It can be no coincidence that last month Lord Mandelson was spotted with his own trusty Brompton.

The Bank gave out slightly conflicting messages today. On the one hand, in his choice of words Mervyn King emphasised the long hard road ahead, a prolonged period lasting years of adjustment to lower levels of public and private debt.

On the other hand, the charts underpinning his inflation forecast suggested that economic growth could top 4 per cent in just over a year’s time (remember that economic growth is yet to restart in the UK).

The Bank’s quarterly health check is suggesting signs of life in the patient.

But the Bank does not want this to be interpreted by the markets as a sign that it will put up interest rates or withdraw QE money creation anytime soon.

In many ways that judgement on the timing of rate rises, which may plunge Britain back into trouble, will be the most controversial and politically impactful decision made by the independent Bank of England.