Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said the rise of populist politicians presents a serious challenge to independent central banks, the Guardian reported Friday.

Speaking at a London School of Economics conference as Nigel Farage's Reform UK held its annual conference in Birmingham, Bailey said central bankers must be prepared to explain their decisions publicly or risk being attacked as an "unrepresentative elite," according to the report.

Bailey said populist parties often claim to alone represent "the authentic will of the people," casting institutions that stand in their way as obstacles to popular sovereignty, according to the report.

He added that legitimacy in modern systems of government rests in the plurality of society rather than the preferences of any single group, according to the report.