Inside Business

The Bank of England has held interest rates again – don’t expect them to fall quickly

Borrowers will face a tough 12 months, believes James Moore, with those hoping for a swift fall in base rates set to be disappointed

Thursday 02 November 2023 16:28 GMT
Comments
<p>Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey arrives at a press conference to explain the latest decision on rates </p>

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey arrives at a press conference to explain the latest decision on rates

For Britain’s battered borrowers, the good news is that the Bank of England’s rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided to hold interest rates at 5.25 per cent.

The vote in favour of doing so solidified too, to 6-3 from 5-4. Significantly, the Bank’s in-house MPC members (the committee is made up of both Bank of England staff and external members) once again voted as a bloc, having previously been split during the last vote.

The rate hawks calling for a rise to 5.5 per cent were all external members: Jonathan Haskel, the recently appointed Megan Greene and Catherine Mann, the leading proponent of hard medicine for Britain’s overheated prices.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in