As is to be expected, the political discourse has begun with typical point-scoring.

Here at Independent Money we’re more concerned with telling you how these decisions affect you day to day than with the blame-gaming, but for completeness…

Sir Mel Stride MP, shadow chancellor, said:

“The fact interest rates are not coming down faster is a result of Labour’s reckless decisions which have pushed up inflation.

“The Prime Minister and Chancellor are distracted by scandal and working people are paying the price.

“There is deep nervousness about the drumbeat of bad economic news: inflation doubled, growth flatlining, and 150,000 jobs lost since the Budget.

“Only the Conservatives, under new leadership, will deliver a stronger economy.”

One key issue which the BoE has given information on today is that of quantitative tightening.

In a quick nutshell, the bank buys government bonds during spells when required, then sells them again afterwards – but had faced criticism recently due to the pace of sales, which pushed prices down and yields (government borrowing costs) up.

Ultimately, it has voted to reduce the rate of sale of them for the coming 12 months.

More on that to come – the vote to do so was split.

On the flip side to mortgages, as ever, are savings.

When interest rates remain higher you can get a better rate on your cash – and it’s important you seek the best returns possible right now, with inflation running close to 4%.

“Inflation is a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ character – while it may be good news for borrowers, as it erodes the value of their debts, it has detrimental implications for savers, investors and for retirees, chipping away at the value of future income payments and eroding the worth of their original capital pot,” explained Maike Currie, VP Personal Finance at PensionBee.

There are still plenty of places you can get above 4% on your money, so make sure you move your savings if needed.

Reaction pouring in already – we’ll bring you the best plus what the BoE itself says in reaction.

As anticipated, the first port of call for many will be over their mortgage repayments.

If you’re on a fixed-term deal nothing changes, but those on variable rates could have – and the many thousands preparing to get new deals across the rest of 2025 may have been hoping for more interest rate cuts.

Jasmin Ehlert, head of bank analytics at Raisin UK, says that’s not happening any time soon – so move quick before banks push up their terms even higher.

“Today’s decision by the Bank of England to hold the base rate at 4.00% reflects the difficult balancing act it faces,” she said.

“For households, this means mortgage and loan costs will not fall straight away, though lenders may start to sharpen their offers if economic pressures build and rate expectations shift. Anyone considering a fixed-rate mortgage should be ready to move quickly when a competitive deal becomes available.”

That’s confirmed – we remain at 4% as expected.

It’s a 7-2 split in voting from the MPC, with two members voting for another cut – that’s actually more than was predicted by most analysts.

Inflation is still an issue but the BoE say “there has been substantial disinflation over the past two and a half years” but they remain focused on returning to the 2% inflation target.

Just a few minutes to go and then we’ll hear the latest.

Typically, what follows is a bit more discourse on wider economic policy, questions to some of the MPC members on their voting stance and some other aspects of the announcement.

We’ll bring you the consumer-focused element of that, plus reaction from lenders, industry experts and what it all means for you going forward.

Here’s the interest rates chart over the last 3.5 years from the Bank of England. Remember a time we were at 0.1%?!

Nobody really expects that to happen again any time soon, even if inflation stabilises and rates drop to a more neutral level.

But, also, we’re down some distance from the 2023/24 highs of 5.25 per cent, which caused real shocks for mortgage repayments and loans on variable rates.

Five cuts have happened since then, three this year.

A fourth today would be an extraordinary surprise – but perhaps, we could still see one in December.

We’re approaching time for the Bank of England’s interest rates vote announcement and reaction to that, so let’s have a quick check in on what to expect.

Here’s what’s happening and what it will mean for you:

Continuing with the data around ISAs, today’s figures show 87,250 people used their Lifetime ISA (LISA) to buy their first home in 2024-25 – that’s up 53.7% from the previous tax year, say money managers Nutmeg.

However, the rate of penalties for early withdrawal also increased across LISAs.

Claire Exley, head of financial advice and guidance at Nutmeg, says that should open debate once more to ensure savers aren’t punished due to increased housing costs and frozen thresholds.

“The Treasury received over £100 million from early LISA withdrawal penalties for the first time, a 35% increase from the previous tax year and the second year in a row it has risen.

“Whether it is rising house prices which have put properties beyond the LISA house price cap or a change in life circumstances that means people need the money in their LISA, more savers are handing over their savings to pay the exit penalty.

“While some friction to withdrawals helps consumers remain focused on goals, there should be a mechanism which ensures the Government gets back any bonus paid to LISA savers but does not excessively harm those who can no longer use a LISA or whose life circumstances change.

“While some are debating the future of the LISA, this data shows that it remains a well-loved and powerful tool for younger savers to accumulate wealth and get on the property ladder.”