George was born and grew up in Carshalton, the son of Alan, a Post Office clerk, and his wife Olive.

During the early part of George's governance, his successful relationship with then-Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Clarke earned them the nickname 'the Ken and Eddie Show'.

[3] Upon the Labour Party coming to power at the 1997 general election, the Bank was given independence in setting UK interest rates by Gordon Brown, the incoming Chancellor of the Exchequer.

George attracted controversy in 1998 when he was widely reported to have made a statement to London newspaper executives implying that unemployment in the north of England was a price worth paying to preserve affluence in the south of the country.

[10] He was made a life peer in June 2004[1] as Baron George, of St Tudy in the County of Cornwall.