London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jan 30, 2026

Interest rate rise will be higher than expected next month, Bank of England chief suggests

Interest rate rise will be higher than expected next month, Bank of England chief suggests

Andrew Bailey says there has been "a very clear and immediate meeting of minds" with the new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on the need for financial stability and the measures to achieve it and indicated his concern with the direction taken by his predecessor, Kwasi Kwarteng.

Interest rates will have to be raised higher than initially hoped in the face of inflationary pressures, the Bank of England (BoE) governor has suggested.

Speaking at an International Monetary Fund event in Washington, Andrew Bailey also said there had been "a very clear and immediate meeting of minds" with new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on the need for financial stability and the measures to achieve it.

It comes after Mr Hunt has said there "were mistakes" in last month's government mini-budget, and pointed out some taxes may have to rise and others might not fall as much as planned.

He added it was an error to "fly blind" by not accompanying the "fiscal event" with an economic forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which many argue sent the financial markets into turmoil.

The BoE is due to announce its next decision on interest rates, which will impact household mortgages, on 3 November and many investors think it will either raise them from their current level of 2.25% to 3% or possibly 3.25%, both of which would be much bigger moves than usual.

Mr Bailey said: "We will not hesitate to raise interest rates to meet the inflation target.

"And, as things stand today, my best guess is that inflationary pressures will require a stronger response than we
perhaps thought in August."

The bank previously predicted the rate of inflation would peak at 11% in October, while its goal was 2%.

Mr Bailey said the bank would assess the impact of the government's energy support scheme and the 31 October budget statement of Mr Hunt, who took up the role on Friday after Kwasi Kwarteng was sacked following the economic chaos fuelled by his unfunded tax cut plans.

He added: "The MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) will respond to all this news at its next meeting in just under three weeks from now.

"This is the correct sequence in my view. We will know the full scope of fiscal policy by then."

In a further major U-turn on Friday, Prime Minister Liz Truss scrapped a freeze in corporation tax and said she would instead allow it to rise from April, as planned by Boris Johnson's government.

The government had already rowed back on ditching the top 45p tax rate for the highest earners in the face of a Tory backlash.

Ms Truss also said spending would increase by less than planned.

Mr Bailey said: "I can tell you that I spoke to Jeremy Hunt, the new chancellor, yesterday (Friday).

"I can tell you that there was a very clear and immediate meeting of minds between us about the importance of fiscal sustainability and the importance of taking measures to do that.

"Jeremy is now working on what will be the fiscal statement. It's not for me and it's not appropriate for me to constrain the choices he makes.

"But a very clear message I would give, and it's a clear message for everybody, including a clear message for markets.

"I can tell you there is a very clear and immediate meeting of minds on the importance of stability and sustainability."

Mr Bailey also indicated his concerns over the direction taken by the former chancellor, pointing to a statement he issued in the wake of the mini-budget.

He said: "I felt I had to. It's not something I make a habit of doing but given the situation.

"I also don't make a habit of commenting on fiscal policy as a rule, because that's not my job.

"But I made two points on fiscal policy... which are of clear relevance to the central bank.

"One was to emphasise the importance of sustainability of fiscal policy and the second, which was part of that, was to emphasise the need to have the Office for Budget Responsibility involved - that flying blind is not the way to achieving sustainability."

Mr Bailey said the bank was able to operate monetary policy - chiefly interest rates - to manage the economy and also make financial stability interventions to address issues such as the recent surge in British government bond yields that threatened some pension funds.

The BoE ended its emergency bond-buying on Friday.

"In these difficult times, we need to be very clear on this framework of intervention," Mr Bailey said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
AstraZeneca Announces £11bn China Investment After Scaling Back UK Expansion Plans
Starmer and Xi Forge Warming UK-China Ties in Beijing Amid Strategic Reset
Former South Korean First Lady Kim Keon Hee Sentenced to 20 Months for Bribery
Tesla Ends Model S and X Production and Sends $2 Billion to xAI as 2025 Revenue Declines
China Executes 11 Members of the Ming Clan in Cross-Border Scam Case Linked to Myanmar’s Lawkai
Trump Administration Officials Held Talks With Group Advocating Alberta’s Independence
Starmer Signals UK Push for a More ‘Sophisticated’ Relationship With China in Talks With Xi
Shopping Chatbots Move From Advice to Checkout as Walmart Pushes Faster Than Amazon
Starmer Seeks Economic Gains From China Visit While Navigating US Diplomatic Sensitivities
Starmer Says China Visit Will Deliver Economic Benefits as He Prepares to Meet Xi Jinping
UK Prime Minister Starmer Arrives in China to Bolster Trade and Warn Firms of Strategic Opportunities
The AI Hiring Doom Loop — Algorithmic Recruiting Filters Out Top Talent and Rewards Average or Fake Candidates
Amazon to Cut 16,000 Corporate Jobs After Earlier 14,000 Reduction, Citing Streamlining and AI Investment
Federal Reserve Holds Interest Rate at 3.75% as Powell Faces DOJ Criminal Investigation During 2026 Decision
Putin’s Four-Year Ukraine Invasion Cost: Russia’s Mass Casualty Attrition and the Donbas Security-Guarantee Tradeoff
Wall Street Bets on Strong US Growth and Currency Moves as Dollar Slips After Trump Comments
UK Prime Minister Traveled to China Using Temporary Phones and Laptops to Limit Espionage Risks
Google’s $68 Million Voice Assistant Settlement Exposes Incentives That Reward Over-Collection
Kim Kardashian Admits Faking Paparazzi Visit to Britney Spears for Fame in Early 2000s
UPS to Cut 30,000 More Jobs by 2026 Amid Shift to High-Margin Deliveries
France Plans to Replace Teams and Zoom Across Government With Homegrown Visio by 2027
Trump Removes Minneapolis Deportation Operation Commander After Fatal Shooting of Protester
Iran’s Elite Wealth Abroad and Sanctions Leakage: How Offshore Luxury Sustains Regime Resilience
U.S. Central Command Announces Regional Air Exercise as Iran Unveils Drone Carrier Footage
Four Arrested in Andhra Pradesh Over Alleged HIV-Contaminated Injection Attack on Doctor
Hot Drinks, Hidden Particles: How Disposable Cups Quietly Increase Microplastic Exposure
UK Banks Pledge £11 Billion Lending Package to Help Firms Expand Overseas
Suella Braverman Defects to Reform UK, Accusing Conservatives of Betrayal on Core Policies
Melania Trump Documentary Sees Limited Box Office Traction in UK Cinemas
Meta and EssilorLuxottica Ray-Ban Smart Glasses and the Non-Consensual Public Recording Economy
WhatsApp Develops New Meta AI Features to Enhance User Control
Germany Considers Gold Reserves Amidst Rising Tensions with the U.S.
Michael Schumacher Shows Significant Improvement in Health Status
Greenland’s NATO Stress Test: Coercion, Credibility, and the New Arctic Bargaining Game
Diego Garcia and the Chagos Dispute: When Decolonization Collides With Alliance Power
Trump Claims “Total” U.S. Access to Greenland as NATO Weighs Arctic Basing Rights and Deterrence
Air France and KLM Suspend Multiple Middle East Routes as Regional Tensions Disrupt Aviation
U.S. winter storm triggers 13,000-plus flight cancellations and 160,000 power outages
Poland delays euro adoption as Domański cites $1tn economy and zloty advantage
White House: Trump warns Canada of 100% tariff if Carney finalizes China trade deal
PLA opens CMC probe of Zhang Youxia, Liu Zhenli over Xi authority and discipline violations
ICE and DHS immigration raids in Minneapolis: the use-of-force accountability crisis in mass deportation enforcement
UK’s Starmer and Trump Agree on Urgent Need to Bolster Arctic Security
Starmer Breaks Diplomatic Restraint With Firm Rebuke of Trump, Seizing Chance to Advocate for Europe
UK Finance Minister Reeves to Join Starmer on China Visit to Bolster Trade and Economic Ties
Prince Harry Says Sacrifices of NATO Forces in Afghanistan Deserve ‘Respect’ After Trump Remarks
Barron Trump Emerges as Key Remote Witness in UK Assault and Rape Trial
Nigel Farage Attended Davos 2026 Using HP Trust Delegate Pass Linked to Sasan Ghandehari
Gold Jumps More Than 8% in a Week as the Dollar Slides Amid Greenland Tariff Dispute
BlackRock Executive Rick Rieder Emerges as Leading Contender to Succeed Jerome Powell as Fed Chair
×