Give me a break. Its mandate is the CPI, yet until it could no longer hide behind a suspect CPI basket it had a policy of cutting everytime house price growth fell below 9%.

It pays lip service to containing inflation in the media so the moronic masses will not start demanding wage increases BUT its hawkish stance in no way matches its policies.

If there was no link between house prices, wealth, consumption and prices when house prices went up (so rates were not raised), why does this link change with price falls?

It is also tiring to hear VIs and the media talking about inflation risk the day after MPC decisions, but everyone going into a panic mode/ releasing negtaive news the two days before.

Policy clearly is aimed at risking excess over being prudent. If a letter doess go to the chancellor as inflation goes above 3% what is the punishment. The govt would not care.

Let credit markets continue returning to normal. High income multiples and low deposits were wrong.

Trevor, UK,

The people who are supposed to protect Sterling are destroying it. There will be a flight of currency from the country.

Paul, Coventry,

As expected. Political considerations, and the need to prop up the housing market will always win over controlling inflation.

Iain Ballentine, London,

TO Nick. London

You want to know why the bank has cut interest rates when they should be going up?

Quite simple.

The government is "up the creek" and the May elections are looming.

Don't forget ,Brown runs the so-called Bank of England

The members of the MPC are selected by Brown and do not "bite the hand that feeds them"

george, Hertford, uk

david, what set of circumstances would actually help those of you "priced out of the market"?

jem, london, uk

It's not often mentioned that many of us have tracker mortgages. I do, and it's come down 0.5% since December, and will come down 0.25% further today.
The credit crunch is helping some of us anyway!

Chris, Northampton, England

Some three years ago 'The Economist' wrote an in-depth article on the various reasons why house prices and the whole market in the UK, USofA and, I believe, Australia would plummet and finish up in turmoil. If I recall correctly, the time frame was about three years. At the time, the 'few' people who read the article and attempted to discuss the content were branded as 'bringers of doom and miserable pessimists' . How right 'The Economist' was!

John, Hamburg

Brian , Hamburg, germany

The central issue here is banks trying to recover their losses from customers rather than obtain new capital from shareholders.

The B of E should deal firmly with this moral hazard. It should say to the banks that if they were to behave insensitively towards the citizens of the UK (by not passing on interest rate cuts without good reason) then this would be reflected in the help and support the B of E gives to them.

There is no point in the B of E having power if it does not exercise it. Encouraging virtue and consequently profit is surely the best policy.

fred keeling, almunecar, spain

The central issue here is banks trying to recover their losses from customers rather than obtain new capital from shareholders.

The B of E should deal firmly with this moral hazard. It should say to the banks that if they were to behave insensitively towards the citizens of the UK (by not passing on interest rate cuts without good reason) then this would be reflected in the help and support the B of E gives to them.

There is no point in the B of E having power if it does not exercise it. Encouraging virtue and consequently profit is surely the best policy.

fred keeling, almunecar, spain

What is the point of lowering interest rates? It doesn't benefit the mortgage payers, rates are still going up, it doesn't benefit the savers as interest payments are diminishing. Inflation is increasing and the only people benefiting are the banks. Increasing profit margin from mortgages and decreasing interest payments! Weren't these they people that created the problems in the first place? Banks, they can't loose.......

Rob, Liverpool,