When is the next Bank of England base rate meeting?

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Bank of England interest rate announcement dates
What is the Bank of England’s MPC?
Base rate forecast

The Bank of England meets eight times a year to set the base rate, which is the core interest rate for the UK.

The base rate (also called the bank rate) is the rate of interest that the Bank of England charges commercial banks, building societies, and other financial institutions that hold money with, or borrow from, the central bank.

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The base rate is usually adjusted as a way to control inflation in the economy. The central bank typically increases rates when inflation is too high, and eases them when price growth returns closer to the bank’s 2% target.

Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, held the deciding vote, choosing to cut rates as he said “disinflation is now more established” in the economy.

Bank of England interest rate announcement dates

The MPC meets roughly every six weeks to set the base rate, though extraordinary meetings can be called when needed.

The meetings usually happen the day before the interest rate announcement.

Here is the full list of dates when the MPC interest rate decision will be announced by the Bank of England in 2026:

5 February
19 March
30 April
18 June
30 July
17 September
5 November
17 December

What is the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee?

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee is the body that is responsible for setting the bank rate.

The committee is made up of nine members, and is chaired by BoE governor Andrew Bailey.

Five of the members are internal staff, while the remaining four are external experts appointed to make sure the MPC benefits from expertise outside the Bank of England.

During each meeting, the committee votes on whether to cut, hold or raise interest rates.

Bank of England base rate forecast

The Bank of England has a mandate to keep inflation at the 2% target, which economic consensus says constitutes a healthy level of inflation in the economy.

The central bank will try to achieve this through various monetary policy levers, though the main one is changing the bank rate.

Inflation rose in the 12 months to December 2025, going up 20 basis points to 3.4%, the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows. It was the first time inflation rose since July 2025.

Most forecasters believe that rising inflation in December is a blip, with price growth expected to ease throughout 2026. The central bank estimates inflation to reach the 2% target by early 2027.

This could mean more interest rate cuts in 2026 – though the Bank of England does tend to emphasise that monetary policy is not on a set path.

Ed Monk, pensions and investment specialist at Fidelity International, said: “There’s reason to hope that more cuts will arrive in 2026. The Bank [in its December meeting] acknowledged that the risk of persistent inflation has reduced in recent months and decisions on further cuts are now more finely balanced.

“Markets are pricing in one further quarter-point cut in the first half of 2026 but the picture beyond that is less certain. However, the chances of a second cut [in 2026] are increasing.”

One other thing to pay attention to in 2026 is whether significant division within the MPC over interest rate decisions will continue to appear. The committee voted 5-4 to cut rates in December, and voted 5-4 to hold rates in both November and August.

This is a contrast to some previous MPC votes, like their September decision to hold rates, which the MPC voted 7-2 in favour of. Another example is their decision to cut rates in January – every member of the MPC thought rates should be cut, though there was disagreement over how deep the cut should be.

The split indicates that there is an increasing amount of disagreement between the MPC’s doves and hawks over whether economic indicators justify an interest rate cut.

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Daniel is a financial journalist at MoneyWeek, writing about personal finance, economics, property, politics, and investing.

He covers savings, political news and enjoys translating economic data into simple English, and explaining what it means for your wallet.

Daniel joined MoneyWeek in January 2025. He previously worked at The Economist in their Audience team and read history at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, specialising in the history of political thought.

In his free time, he likes reading, walking around Hampstead Heath, and cooking overambitious meals.