Or two if they do hold rates and that decision is expected any second now. Liam, if they do hold them, could we start seeing rates starting to come down maybe towards the 4 area in the near future. 7 future . Im literally checking my phone here, pip, as we speak. You keep your eyes if you. Liam we are being told now it has been held. Its been held. At 5. 25. Your its been held. At 5. 25. Your reaction . Thats thats very, reaction . Thats thats very, very interesting. Whats going to happen now is that the pound will likely fall because traders were expecting an Interest Rate rise. On balance, what will happen now is so called two year swap rates will change. So Mortgage Companies quite quickly will start competing and offering cheaper loans. Weve already had Mortgage Rates coming down over recent weeks because of an expectation that this would be the peak in Interest Rates if indeed there was a rate rise. If we look at my graphic now, i hope its on the screen. You can hope its on the screen. You can see that rates have been ultra low, 0. 1 back in 2021. They stayed really low during the covid pandemic period. Then we had those 14 consecutive rate rises all the way up to 5. 25 with this hold. And there will with this hold. And there will now be a wave of opinion that uk Interest Rates have now peaked. Interest rates have now peaked. I certainly hope thats the case because that would certainly boost our ailing economy and would boost Consumer Sentiment and would be considered a relief for the millions of young families around the country who are struggling to meet rising mortgage payments. And this, in mortgage payments. And this, in my view, is good news. And liam to have good news twice in two days feels extraordinary , isnt it . Its extraordinary, isnt it . Its been such a long time since millions of homeowners and Business Owners have had news like this, particularly with mortgage owners who are being squeezed at both ends on soaring repayments on their properties and also the price of their food , their petrol, their electricity. Fantastic news at electricity. Fantastic news at long last. What do you think this means for the kind of recovery of the uk economy in general . Now well, lets not get beyond ourselves. They have held rates. Theyre not bringing rates down. But its certainly better, in my view , than a rate rise. I do view, than a rate rise. I do think this could at least be a waypoint towards the end of the cost of living crisis and businesses will now start to believe that they can start to borrow to invest because hopefully rates are now clearly coming down. Households will start to believe that theres an end to their misery of rising fuel payments, Rising Energy costs, rising mortgage payments which have really act as a dampener on Consumer Sentiment and retail sales more generally look , there are many possible look, there are many possible flies in this ointment. We could easily have another Energy Price Spike this autumn. It depends spike this autumn. It depends a lot. Now on geo politics. Whats geo politics . Thats the really big picture of how countries interact with each other strategically. Geo politics means what will the opec Oil Exporters cartel do . Will they exporters cartel do . Will they will they try and squeeze the western world even more by pushing up the price of oil from where currently is, 95 where it currently is, 95 a barrel, up from 70 earlier this summer. Thats a 35 rise that almost no one has been talking about on television. But its absolutely huge economically. Absolutely huge economically. Will the opec exporters cartel working with the russians energy giant saudi and russia working together, push oil over 100 a barrel . And once again complicate the western worlds ability to tackle inflation . Many imponderables economics is always about risk and uncertainty. Martin and pip, but youre absolutely right. Yesterdays inflation down uk Interest Rates today held good news, good news. Thank you very much , liam , i need to keep you there. I know you might like to go and have a drink after that news, but i just need to keep you there for a second. I think what what asking you now what what i was asking you now was theyve been held, will was if theyve been held, will we see them come down further . And over the coming and could we over the coming months . Get closer to months . Now see us get closer to maybe 4 i think four. I dont think well see 4 for a while. Pip in terms of the bank of englands base rate, with with all respect , i mean, with with all respect, i mean, ive been looking down the barrel of a of a camera talking to you since this decision. I havent read the bank of englands press i englands press release. I havent read the minutes of the Monetary Policy committee. I will get off camera will as soon as i get off camera and come to you again later and ill come to you again later in show and tell you what in your show and tell you what i think is really going on, because depends on what because it depends on what the Monetary CommitteeMonetary Policy committee thinks. I suspect this was a knife edged either knife edged decision. Either 5 to 4 in favour of a hold or possibly 6 to 3 in favour of a hold. Thats among the nine economists on the bank of englands Monetary Policy committee. But it strikes me committee. But it strikes me that one strategy they may have will be a kind of Table Top Mountain strategy. You take rates a certain period, rates to a certain period, a point, and then you keep them flat and high in order to really squeeze Inflation Expectations out the system , to push down out of the system, to push down on wage bargaining , to slow the on wage bargaining, to slow the economy right to down get rid of those upward price pressures, or instead of going for a sort of Table Top Mountain type model, they go for alpine they could go for an Alpine Mountain a peak rates mountain, a peak with rates touching 5. 25, staying there, and then coming down rapidly. It all depends on the data pip economics is what we call iterative. You have to decide as you go, as new information comes to the fore. To the fore. Liam, i just want to get your thoughts because we are getting more information now and it was a close decision for four a very close decision for four people, five of the nine people on the committee voted to raise the rates. Four of them voted to raise. Yep yep. Raise. Yep yep. And that means five must have voted to hold. So that is as close as it gets by a whisker. Itll be really interesting to see who that who that swing voter was and it will be really interesting to see what side of that divide the governor of the bank of england, Andrew Bailey, was on. Was he on the side . That one, or was he outvoted with other members of the Monetary Policy committee , mpc, members policy committee, mpc, members from the bank of from outside the bank of england, the so called independent members . Theyre not really independent enough for my taste , by the way, but they are taste, by the way, but they are non bank of england staffers. Non bank of england staffers. Itll be interesting to see if the governor was outvoted. Andrew bailey has come in for a lot of criticism over the last couple of years for saying repeatedly during 2020 and 2021 that post pandemic inflation would be, quote, transitory. Would be, quote, transitory. Many of us told him he would it wouldnt be transitory. Many of us told them that after the pandemic, there be a real inflation spike as a wall of demand hit a Global Economy which couldnt respond in time because of post pandemic supply chain issues. The bank of england wouldnt have it. They were wrong and they were completely wrong and they were completely wrong and they were late in starting to raise interest andrew Interest Rates. And Andrew Bailey figurehead of bailey was the figurehead of those is he now on the those errors. Is he now on the wrong side of his own Monetary Policy committee, which he chairs . Thats what ill be looking for. West since i get off this discussion, can i just get one other thats very final thought from you, liam. Just one final thought, because this information is coming in as youre talking the Monetary PolicyCommittee Also downgraded its forecast for the economy. It now expects gdp to rise just 0. 1 in the Third Quarter of this year compared with the 0. 4 rise that it forecast last month. Obviously forecast last month. Obviously i find that baffling. Ill have to see why they think that thats certainly not what a lot of private sector forecasters think. I mean, it was only a few weeks ago that the office for National Statistics found , if i can put statistics found, if i can put it like this, a whole load of growth down the back of the sofa that they hadnt considered. So our gdp performance was enormously upgraded. It may be, enormously upgraded. It may be, though, that in to order try and justify that Interest Rate hold, the bank is forced casting that the bank is forced casting that the economy is going to be more subdued. Ill have to look into the details of that. That does seem to me to be a slightly odd position for the bank of england to take. Its easy for to take. But look, its easy for me to stand outside on the street and talk. The people on the mpc, they have got a difficult job navigating us through this very difficult penod through this very difficult period money, pippa period. But for my money, pippa martin, today they made the right decision. And liam , just before we let and liam, just before we let you go, there are rumours of protests today outside the bank of england. Did anything occur . Of england. Did anything occur . Yeah, it was a very kind of it wasnt a particularly energetic protest. It was a small number of people, maybe a dozen , calling for no more rate dozen, calling for no more rate rises and calling for a windfall tax on the uks banking sector. I think, by the way, the second of those 2 2 issues, a windfall tax on banks will very much come into the offing in the months to come ahead of a general election. I wouldnt be surprised if certainly the labour party made a formal proposal in their manifesto for a windfall tax on banks the same way that the conservatives have obviously done a windfall tax on north sea oil and gas providers. But it wasnt a violent protest. It was very good natured , very good very good natured, very good humoured and it certainly hasnt bothered me as ive been broadcasting here to gb news viewers and listeners. Viewers and listeners. Liam, thank you so much. Just liam, thank you so much. Just to bring you as well, some reaction from the governor of the bank of england, Andrew Bailey. He says inflation has fallen lot recent months. Fallen a lot in recent months. We it will continue to do we think it will continue to do so news. But so. That is welcome news. But there is no room for complacency , he warns. We need to be sure inflation returns to normal and we will continue to take the decisions necessary to do just that. Decisions necessary to do just that. That is the latest that. That is the latest comments from the governor of the bank of england. Andrew the bank of england. Andrew bailey and it was 5 to 4 bailey yeah, and it was 5 to 4 voting in favour of holding rates versus 6 to 3 in favour of raising them back in august. So it seems a nice calm settled into the bank of england. Thank you. Liam halligan for twice in one week bringing us and millions of people watching home owners and Business Owners. Some fantastic news, more reaction in the reaction coming in from the chancellor, jeremy hunt. He is saying uk is starting to see saying the uk is starting to see the turn against high the tide turn against high inflation. Were starting. We will continue to do what we can, he says, to help households struggling with mortgage payments. Now is the time to see the job through, says the chancellor. The job through, says the chancellor. Were on the job through, says the chancellor. Were on track to chancellor. Were on track to halve inflation this year and sticking to our plan is the only way to bring interest and Mortgage Rates down. Thats the reaction from chancellor jeremy hunt. Superb. Well, here at superb. Well, here at gb news, want know what you news, we want to know what you think and how the big political decisions of the day will affect you. Yes. Yes. Throughout show, will throughout the show, we will be speaking to people up and down country hear down the country to hear what they about todays they are saying about todays Interest Rate decision. South west and our south west of england, moody is england, reporter jeff moody is in molton pannier market in south molton pannier market for us today. Hello to you there, jeff. So live news just coming in. Bank of england held firm Interest Rates to stay flat. Whats the reaction from people over there . People over there . Thats right. Well, inflation down, Interest Rates staying the same. Is this the end of the same. Is this the end of the cost of living crisis or at least the beginning of the end . I always find pannier markets a good sort of barometer of how trade is going and how business is going and how the of is going and how the cost of living is affecting people. So lets going lets find out. Im going to talk im going to talk to talk to im going to talk to this gentleman, pete , from the this gentleman, pete, from the fruit veg store. Hello to fruit and veg store. Hello to you, pete. Good morning. Good morning. Afternoon technically, it is just gone midday and of course, at midday you were busy serving customers, you may serving customers, so you may not heard that interest not have heard that Interest Rates stayed same. How rates have stayed the same. How good that good news for you . Good is that good news for you . Thats make any difference . Really. Ive got no mortgage, but obviously savings. It would but obviously savings. It would have been nice for me if the Interest Rate had gone up, which means more for savings. Means more for savings. But the only thing sorry concern for me is childcare for my daughter and shes still back in kent. Got an extortionate rate on her mortgage, but she managed to get a fixed deal. But its the childcare that she has to pay £900 a month for two days a week. Crikey thats a lot of money, isnt it . Thats a lot of money. Theyre saying this could be the beginning of the end of the cost of living crisis. Is that what you do you feel that you feel . Do you feel that things better . Hows things are Getting Better . Hows business here . Business is great here. Well, business is great here. Yeah is good. So busy yeah it is really good. So busy every day. Well, thursday and saturday. Yeah. I dont i cant see it Getting Better. Some pnces see it Getting Better. Some prices are coming down. Other pnces prices are coming down. Other prices are coming down. Other prices are going up. Obviously with the seasons. Yeah okay. Brill, thank you very much indeed for that. Really appreciate that. Pete, lets go and talk to some of the other ones. I want to go and head to this pick and mix over this pick and mix store over here because hoping to get here because im hoping to get a freebie, itll be freebie, but itll be interesting hear what he interesting to hear what he thinks. Always very good thinks. Its always a very good barometer, of how barometer, i think, of how people feeling looking at people are feeling looking at pannier markets like this and looking at the trade there. Hello to you, ian. You hello to you, ian. You definitely the best looking definitely have the best looking store the entire market. Store in the entire market. Thank you very much. Now weve just heard in the last five minutes that Interest Rates have stayed same. How do you feel stayed the same. How do you feel about that . Well, hoping , you know, being well, hoping, you know, being a saver, i was hoping that was going up five and going to go up to five and a half. But five is okay. So another person that actually wanted them to go up, we dont often talk about savers, do we normally talk savers, do we . We normally talk about that have about people that have mortgages, course , the mortgages, but of course, the other side when the other side of that, when the banks Building Societies banks and Building Societies pass savings on, is that pass those savings on, is that its good for savers, isnt it . Exactly you know, well, ive always been a saver, so, you know , im been a saver, so, you know, im quite happy when it goes up. You know, theyre saying that this could now be the beginning of the end for the cost of living crisis because inflation is down slightly. Interest rates are staying the same. Theres definitely a sort of breath of fresh air. Finally in the economy. Isnt there . Do you feel that business wise . I do. I do. Its you know, its progressing nicely as i as i see it. You know, its i mean, markets have been a little bit bomb proof, havent they . Because during the cost of living crisis, because you havent got the huge overheads that Lot Companies have, that a lot of companies have, you dont have the huge fuel bills, you have property bills, you dont have property bills, you dont have property bills well. Is how you bills as well. Is that how you found