Interest rate rise could make a bad situation worse

Commenting on today’s decision by the Bank of England to raise the base rate by 0.5 percentage points, TUC head of economics Kate Bell said:

“With the UK economy in recession, and the value of everyone’s pay plummeting, this rate rise could make a bad situation worse.

“The priority now should be protecting living standards and boosting the economy to stop the recession and protect people’s jobs.

“The best way to do this is by giving working people decent pay rises that keep up with the cost of living.”