Media focus on interest rate cuts lets the government off the hook. The real decisions shaping who suffers and who thrives come from political choices, not central bank tweaks.
The Bank of England is set to cut interest rates from 4.5 per cent to 4.25 per cent today (May 8, 2025), in a move that has made headlines.
We are told this will make mortgages cheaper, borrowing easier, and — maybe — help steady the economy in turbulent global times.
But here’s the blunt truth:
This is a distraction.
Help fund great articles! We’re aiming for £50 to cover research and reporting time this week.
Can you chip in £3 today?
👉 https://ko-fi.com/voxpolitical
A quarter-point rate cut will knock £29 off the average tracker mortgage.
It will trim a little off loan rates and shave a little off savings returns. But it will do nothing to address the real, grinding economic pressures hitting millions of households across Britain.
Why?
Because the Bank of England can only pull one big lever: the base interest rate.
It has no power over wages, rents, energy bills, food prices, housing supply, or the social security safety net.
Those are political decisions. And they are being made — or more often, avoided — by the government in Downing Street and Whitehall.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
Who really shapes the economy?
It’s a neat political trick, isn’t it?
The media keeps the public focused on the drama of monetary policy: the technical manoeuvres of economists in suits at Threadneedle Street, and meanwhile, the people with the actual power to decide who benefits and who struggles — the Prime Minister, the Chancellor, Parliament — skate by without serious scrutiny.
Get my free guide: “10 Political Lies You Were Sold This Decade” — just subscribe to our email list here:
👉 https://voxpoliticalonline.com
While the Bank fiddles with interest rates, here are just some of the things the government controls and neglects:
-
Raising the minimum wage or public sector pay
-
Reforming universal credit, benefits, and pensions
-
Tackling out-of-control housing costs with rent controls or social housing
-
Regulating energy firms to protect consumers
-
Investing in public services that reduce the cost burden on families
None of these problems can be fixed with a minor interest rate change. But they could be fixed with political will.
The kicker: a government hiding behind the Bank
Let’s be clear: the Bank of England has an important job, but it is not an elected body. It does not set the moral direction of the economy.
That is the government’s job.
Help fund great articles! We’re aiming for £50 to cover research and reporting time this week.
Can you chip in £3 today?
👉 https://ko-fi.com/voxpolitical
So next time you hear politicians or pundits tell you that everything depends on the Bank’s next move, ask yourself: who’s dodging responsibility here?
While Downing Street hides behind Threadneedle Street, the people paying the price are workers, renters, pensioners, and families — the vast majority of Britain — left waiting for political leadership that never comes.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
Stop blaming the Bank of England — It’s Downing Street that’s failing strivers
Media focus on interest rate cuts lets the government off the hook. The real decisions shaping who suffers and who thrives come from political choices, not central bank tweaks.
The Bank of England is set to cut interest rates from 4.5 per cent to 4.25 per cent today (May 8, 2025), in a move that has made headlines.
We are told this will make mortgages cheaper, borrowing easier, and — maybe — help steady the economy in turbulent global times.
But here’s the blunt truth:
This is a distraction.
Help fund great articles! We’re aiming for £50 to cover research and reporting time this week.
Can you chip in £3 today?
👉 https://ko-fi.com/voxpolitical
A quarter-point rate cut will knock £29 off the average tracker mortgage.
It will trim a little off loan rates and shave a little off savings returns. But it will do nothing to address the real, grinding economic pressures hitting millions of households across Britain.
Why?
Because the Bank of England can only pull one big lever: the base interest rate.
It has no power over wages, rents, energy bills, food prices, housing supply, or the social security safety net.
Those are political decisions. And they are being made — or more often, avoided — by the government in Downing Street and Whitehall.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
Who really shapes the economy?
It’s a neat political trick, isn’t it?
The media keeps the public focused on the drama of monetary policy: the technical manoeuvres of economists in suits at Threadneedle Street, and meanwhile, the people with the actual power to decide who benefits and who struggles — the Prime Minister, the Chancellor, Parliament — skate by without serious scrutiny.
Get my free guide: “10 Political Lies You Were Sold This Decade” — just subscribe to our email list here:
👉 https://voxpoliticalonline.com
While the Bank fiddles with interest rates, here are just some of the things the government controls and neglects:
Raising the minimum wage or public sector pay
Reforming universal credit, benefits, and pensions
Tackling out-of-control housing costs with rent controls or social housing
Regulating energy firms to protect consumers
Investing in public services that reduce the cost burden on families
None of these problems can be fixed with a minor interest rate change. But they could be fixed with political will.
The kicker: a government hiding behind the Bank
Let’s be clear: the Bank of England has an important job, but it is not an elected body. It does not set the moral direction of the economy.
That is the government’s job.
Help fund great articles! We’re aiming for £50 to cover research and reporting time this week.
Can you chip in £3 today?
👉 https://ko-fi.com/voxpolitical
So next time you hear politicians or pundits tell you that everything depends on the Bank’s next move, ask yourself: who’s dodging responsibility here?
While Downing Street hides behind Threadneedle Street, the people paying the price are workers, renters, pensioners, and families — the vast majority of Britain — left waiting for political leadership that never comes.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
you might also like
Bankers who torpedoed the economy are set to get away with it after all
Cameron has shown that protecting the NHS from corporate rape is the last of his concerns
Was the crash really ‘all Labour’s fault’? – Flip Chart Fairy Tales