BUSINESS owners have shared their final words for Andrew Bailey ahead of the Bank of England’s (BoE) base rate decision today, with one urging the Governor “to bin the neoliberal manual” and “stop being a slave to lagging indicators”.
The BoE is expected to cut the base rate from 4% to 3.75% after yesterday’s larger-than-expected drop in UK inflation, from 3.6% to 3.2%.
It would be good news for those shopping for mortgage rates with borrowing costs down to their lowest level since January 2023.
But it would be bad news for savers who will see interest rates on their accounts cut.
Be bold
Samuel Mather-Holgate, Managing Director & IFA at Swindon-based Mather and Murray Financial, urged Bailey to be even more bold than predicted.
He said: “Put your big boy pants on and cut by 50bps. Nothing else will move the needle and the economy needs it.
“Inflation is falling and won’t be pushed up by a 0.5% cut. Be forward-facing, not backwards-looking, and get ahead of the curve for once.”
The views of Shaun Sturgess, Director at Swansea-based Sturgess Mortgage Solutions, mirrored Mather-Holgate’s:
He said: “Try and get ahead of the curve for a change. In the current climate, we need bold monetary policy that looks to the future and not back.
“And even though you are unlikely to cut rates by 0.5%, trail the prospect of more potential cuts to come in your press conference or minutes.”
Cutting rates is key
Emma Jones, Managing Director at Runcorn-based Whenthebanksaysno.co.uk, said a rate cut is needed to start 2026 strongly.
She continued: “Spend less time looking at data and more time looking at the lack of confidence in the economy.
“Businesses are being taxed into the ground and households are groaning under the weight of higher interest rates. Cutting rates is key to ensure we start 2026 on the front foot.”
Omer Mehmet, Managing Director at Welling-based Trinity Finance, agreed, saying a cut is important.
He added: “Yes, inflation is still comfortably above target but it’s moving in the right direction. In fact, it’s coming down faster than was expected.
“A cut at lunchtime will be the perfect Christmas gift for the UK’s under pressure households and businesses.”
Mathematical puzzle
Kundan Bhaduri, Entrepreneur, Investor and Landlord at London-based The Kushman Group, said families and businesses are struggling.
He continued: “Governor, you are sitting at one of those rare moments in Britain’s 21st century history, when monetary policy actually matters rather than simply following market expectations.
“Cut rates by a quarter point today, but more importantly, please start talking like you understand that real businesses face real costs that your models do not capture.
“Stop treating inflation like a mathematical puzzle and start recognising it as the lived experience of families choosing between heating and eating, while you debate basis points in Threadneedle Street meeting rooms.”
Rare moment
Rohit Parmar-Mistry, Founder at Burton-on-Trent-based Pattrn Data, said high rates are strangling the economy.
He added: “Andrew, bin the neoliberal manual. Your dogmatic focus on a 2% inflation target is 1980s monetarism masquerading as modern policy, and it’s strangling the real economy.
“With unemployment hitting 5.1% and GDP flatlining, this isn’t ‘prudence’, it’s a Keynesian nightmare. We are witnessing the final gasps of a failed experiment: high rates that starve productive investment while rewarding rent-seekers.
“I’ve spent a decade calling out corporate waste where technology is used to replace people rather than empower them; you’re doing the same at a national level by treating workers as collateral damage in your war on CPI. Stop being a slave to lagging indicators.
“We need a demand-led recovery, not more supply-side theatre. If you don’t pivot to a strategy that prioritises jobs and growth over ideological purity, you aren’t managing the economy, you’re embalming it. Cut rates now to prevent a permanent loss of industrial capacity. This isn’t a game of data points; it’s about people.”
While Riz Malik, Director at Southend-on-Sea-based R3 Wealth, simply joked: “Don’t forget to thank the Chancellor for the fantastic job she has done to make your job harder.”
Photo by Steve Harvey on Unsplash.
