A close call for MPC members voting on rate cut

On 4 August, the Bank of England cut interest rates by 0.25% to 4.5%, its first move since rates rose a year earlier. Many have hoped that this first cut would be followed, relatively swiftly, by two more. However, recent data and information from the Bank itself cast doubt on this hope. The minutes of the August Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting (released 6 September 2005) revealed that the vote to cut rates was much closer than expected. After the London bombings, and the consequent effects on consumer confidence, most economists had assumed a large majority of the MPC were in fav...