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What is the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) and what happens at their meetings?
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is a group of nine experts appointed by the Bank of England responsible for setting interest rates.
The committee is made up of five senior Bank of England staffers and four external experts who are directly appointed by the chancellor.
The MPC members from the Bank include governor Andrew Bailey, deputy governors Dave Ramsden, Clare Lombardelli, Sarah Breeden, and the Bank’s chief economist Huw Pill.
The external experts are selected to ensure the Bank benefits from outside expertise from academia and industry. They include Alan Taylor, Catherine L Mann, Megan Greene, and Swati Dhingra.
A representative from the Treasury is also present. They are allowed to speak about policy ideas, but are not allowed to vote.
The MPC meets every six weeks to vote on whether to cut, hold, or raise interest rates and each vote has equal weight. The governor of the Bank votes last and has the deciding vote in the case of a tie.
Interest rate decisions are usually announced on a Thursday, though the meeting itself typically takes place on the day before the announcement.
At their last meeting, the MPC voted to hold rates at 3.75%, with the motion passing by seven votes to two.
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Follow our reporting on this page for the latest commentary, analysis and breaking news ahead of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee announcing their interest rates decision tomorrow afternoon.
