Interest rates raised for the 14th consecutive time, as voted by Bank of England
Yesterday, for the 14th consecutive time, the Bank of England raised interest rates. This has brought the current rate up by 0.25% to 5.25%, the highest they have been since April 2008.
The rates have been raised in response to high inflation which was down from 11.1% in October to 7.9% this June – remaining significantly above the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)’s goal of 2%.
The consistent financial insecurity that has been felt by households countrywide, coupled with an increasing number of people having to use credit cards and loans to afford even basic necessities – utilities, food, clean clothing – this rise in interest rates will be felt especially harshly by those relying on credit payments to get by.
Speaking to Sky News, Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England, said: "It is tough, and I'm very conscious of that... I'm very, very aware that this is difficult for households. But we've got to get inflation back down to target.
I think it will come down quite substantially by the end of the year - it won't be back to target, we've got more to do next year, and we will do it, but it's on the way down now.".
Big Help Project’s mission is to help alleviate the impact of factors such as this one which exacerbate the poverty cycle for so many people through operating food banks and our Food Club model, running community shops, and offering walk-in services through BHIP and our advice teams.
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