There is a misconception about the effect higher interest rate would have. Many of the comments say that interest rates should be left high to encourage savers BUT higher rates leave less disposable income from the majority of people with mortgages therefore less saving. Rock and a hard place!

Ian M Jones, Reading, UK

I don't think they should lower interest rates, they should keep them at a level which makes the money worth somthing not nothing.
Everyones forgetting, it was lowering the rate in the first place which made borrowing so easy.
Money must be earnt and saved to make it worth value!!

Russ, ILminster, Somerset

If the BoE weaken on inflation they will trigger a sterling crisis that could lead to emergency rate hikes to support the £. A devalued £ will exacerbate inflation & lead to social unrest.
The UK must take the pain & grow the economy from a more sustainable base with real wealth creating jobs.

Steve Marchant, Newton Abbot, UK

Interest rates should not be cut in the interests of the pound against other major currencies.
What is needed is a major reduction in credit card lending generally,but with interest fixed @ 1- 2% over prime - credit card debt is a major problem which needs resolving.

Christopher Robinson, Bangkok, Thailand

Who cares what the MPC do with interest rates?
LIBOR decoupled when the markets concluded the MPC had abdicated responsibility to control inflation.
If the MPC want to confirm their irrelevance then a base rate cut accompanied by the inevitable Mortgage rate rises would underline the reality.

Pat, Coromandel, NZ

What is the point? The 'Bank rate' is directly linked to no other interest rate and if credit is scarce, rates will rise. Surely we must live within our means, reduce debt overall, and get back to a sound currency? A slowdown is inevitable now. Nothing will cushion the landing.

Richard , Chesterfield, UK

It was the ease of attaining money that was the problem. This was all started by those in trusted positions. The government in this country (UK) did not help with 'right to buy' adverts portraying a lower social, lower earning group with council properties and a 'you can have it all' viewpoint.

Harold Cutts, Boston, United Kingdom

Can't Central Bankers see that they have become irrelevant? By leaving interest rates too low for too long there are too many borrowers and not enough savers, which is why there is a credit crunch. Only by RAISING rates will savers be rewarded. Failure to do so simply risks inflation/devaluation.

Peter, London,

We are staring debt deflation in the face. In similar circumstances 20 years ago the Bank of Japan faced the same problem and started cutting rates far too late. And of course with debt deflation comes varying degrees of economic depression.

Tony, Chester,

If the BoE show any weakness in the fight against inflation the pound will weaken and trigger a sterling crisis. You can now get 6% interest in European banks with a higher deposit guarantee. Many depositors will move money there if sterling slides and exacerbate the problem.

Stephen Marchant, Newton Abbot, Devon

the pound is going to hell in a handcart. Savers should fix for a year or longer at rates of 7% to protect themselves.

j dickinson, middlesborough,

We fought WWII with a Bank Rate of 2%. From 1940 to 1945 inflation averaged only 1.8%. Kate Barker knows this. Look up 'Gibson's Paradox' in Wikipedia and see why Keynes kept rates low.

Geoff Gardiner, Swindon, UK

Who cant see how the deep the recession already is. House prices falling, people in airlines, travel, mortgage/estate agents, conveyancing, banks, builders already out of work , many people unable to sell houses to cut outgoings, businesses reporting 25-30% lower sales, just look at the quite roads!

Chris Sullivan, Macclesfield, UK

Ms Barker, the so-called property guru on the MPC has not learnt from the last boom/bust or indeed from the more recent out-of-control boom as she's considering voting for a rate CUT, despite soaring inflation, much of which is due to a sinking pound which is sure to sink further with another cut.

cww, Ipswich,

One big cause of the credit crunch has been central banks (with the Greenspan Put) cutting rates so fuelling the leveraged debt furnace. We need free market interest rates - and the market is currently saying that the price of money (and the price of risk) needs to rise as overpriced assets fall.

Huw Sayer, London, England

Interest rate cut to stimulate the retail market just in time for Xmas. Will the banks pass it on?

steve tea, manchester, cheshire

I think the MPC should focus on getting inflation back under control and within sight of the 2% target before they think about any interest rate cuts.
To consider interest rate cuts at the moment is risky to say the least.
It is this kind of distorted reasoning that got us here in the first plac

Jim, Belfast, NI

Simon, London: 'policy makers and professionals' are not fools.
They act not in the public's interest but for the wealthy elites whom they answer to.
The rational conclusion is the UK economy is being sent into an engineered recession, which will benefit the elites at the expense of the rest society

Frederick Hambro, London, UK

What a relief to see at last a seies of sensible comment about suggestions that we should reduce interest rates.This will do nothing to reduce the CPI or avoid a recession or strengthen the pound or benefit savers.People who have benefited from the last ten years must now live with the tough times

Michael, Lindfield,

Interest rates are going to rise not go down. Why? Banks are basically running out of money at an alarming rate and goverment debt is out of control. This requires cash for which there is a global market. In order to get the cash investors will want a good return = high interest rates worldwide

Rupert, London, UK

Cheap money poorly lent is what got us into this forseeable state.

brian mccaughey, bury, lancs

Our addiction to cheap money and easy lending has turned us into credit junkies over the last 9 years. If we ever want to become sober again, how will it help to return to 24/7 happy hours banking with 125% mortgages for the price of 75% house values? No wonder there is so much turmoil in the City.

Alan Gooch, Honiton, UK

Can anybody tell me when we have had a 'large undershoot' in inflation? What are the real prospects of this happening?

Alex, Salisbury, United Kingdom

What different will it make anyway, its not like banks are going to cut mortgage rates in a hurry.

If a recession did occur?!?!? It has already started and will be a lot worse than previous decades. Banks are pretty much insolvent. as well. A recession is needed in my opinion.

Adrian, Kirkwall, Orkney

How is it that ordinary people see the folly of the low interest rate fiasco, yet the policy makers and professionals do not appear to have caught on yet? How can lowering rates do anything but postpone and worsen an already dire situation. Recessions happen, accept it, take the medicine and move on

Simon, London, UK

I assume they do realise what the effect a weak pound has on imports, pushing up the prices of nearly everything that we bring in. Remember, we hardly produce much now days for exports. Lower interest rate/s will have a big effect on the pound as well.

Arvin, Lon, GB

Why does David Blanchflower get paid for his opinion, and paid to fly in a plane across the Atlantic for each MPC meeting? You could achieve the same effect by installing a permanent sign on a wooden stick behind DB's seat at the MPC table declaring "CUT BY 0.25%"

John Mack, Aberdeen, UK

Erm, wasn't it low interest rates that caused the current problem? The US bailout will generate enough inflation for everyone to share, we really don't need to add to it by cutting interest rates over here.

ToWS, Hertford,

Good thinking! The best answer to the problems created by low interest rates and underpriced risk is more low interest rates and more underpriced risk. They are very clever in that MPC.

Alain, Paris, france