WORKERS are “paying a high price for 12 years of Tory misrule,” trade unions said today after the Bank of England warned that Britain faces the longest recession since records began a century ago.

Bank governor Andrew Bailey predicted a “very tough road ahead” for households as he announced a 0.75 per cent interest rise, taking the bank’s base rate to 3 per cent, the biggest jump since 1989.

Mr Bailey, who urged workers earlier this year to show “wage restraint” despite inflation running at a four-decade high, estimated that unemployment could nearly double as the economy continues to contract into 2024.