Across the world, interest rates are rising, largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Today the Bank of England announced that our interest rates will be rising by 0.75% to 3%.
I know people understood the impact of the pandemic wouldn’t be good for the economy and also that interest rates were not going to stay at the historic low rates that they have been, but increases to rates will still be felt by many. Younger constituents have only ever known low interest rates so this is an adjustment.
The government remains determined to tame inflation which is currently weighing heavily on families, pensioners, and businesses across the country. Rishi spoke about this constantly as Chancellor and over the summer.
It is absolutely vital that we restore economic stability, address our public finances and ensure debt falls so that interest rates can remain as low as possible. It is through doing this that we will be able to deliver lower mortgages rates, more jobs and achieve economic growth.
The Prime Minister and Chancellor have been honest about the fact that difficult decisions on tax and spending will have to be made in order to address the challenges and achieve economic growth.
I spoke to both the Prime Minister and Chancellor at various meetings this week. They wanted to understand the concerns MPs have from our constituencies about issues like business rate reform, VAT, pensions, welfare benefits, levelling up high streets, jobs and recruitment, innovation, pressure on small businesses and the hospitality sector - to name but a few topics that we discussed.
They both remain committed to stabilising our economy and I believe that they are the best people to steer us through this difficult economic period.
The next big fiscal event is on 17th November so all government departments have been asked to feed into that at the moment.
