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Bank of England inflation attitudes survey shows "people are feeling the financial pinch"

ended 15. March 2024

The Bank of England has just published its latest quarterly survey of public attitudes to inflation (full report >> here <<). Newspage asked experts for their thoughts, below.

7 responses from the Newspage community

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Dariusz KarpowiczVerified
Director at Albion Financial Advice
This survey reveals a clear message: people are feeling the financial pinch, with higher interest rates tightening the screws on those with mortgages, loans and credit card debt. While there's a recognition that rate hikes were necessary to tackle inflation, a growing number of people now anticipate and indeed hope for a downward adjustment. Public perception has shifted, expecting inflation to cool and interest rates to stabilise or decrease, reflecting a cautious optimism about the future. Satisfaction with the Bank's handling of rates is improving, indicating a nuanced understanding among the public about the balance between controlling inflation and supporting economic growth.
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Riz MalikVerified
Independent Financial Adviser at R3 Wealth
The Bank of England had to call in the Americans to mark their homework in the form of former Fed Chair, Ben Bernanke, whose investigation should be out in April. That tells you all you need to know about the inadequacy of our central bank.
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Stephen PerkinsVerified
Managing Director at Yellow Brick Mortgages
People thinking rates should go up are clearly those with no mortgage or debt and savings in the bank. It would be far better if the Bank of England sought the opinions of businesses, employers and economists, all of whom would rate the performance of the Bank of England as catastrophic.
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Justin MoyVerified
Managing Director at EHF Mortgages
A huge proportion of the UK public have become better at understanding our economy, specifically how inflation directly influences mortgage rates and affects their finances. With mortgage borrowers approximately 30% of the UK population, it's not suprising that a similar percentage want to see rates fall, whereas a large number of the public with savings would actually benefit from higher rates. Further assessments in the coming months will be an important barometer, especially with a General Election not far away.
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Ben PerksVerified
Managing Director at Orchard Financial Advisers
Unlike the Chancellor, who said we'd be at 2% inflation in two months, the public seem much more realistic in their attitude towards the end of this inflation nightmare. In short, they feel it will take longer. The disparity between people who want rate rises and reductions is interesting, very likely borrowers versus savers. In the mortgage world, we are very keen to see reductions, as the burden on borrowers is insurmountable and needs to be alleviated soon. The Bank of England should be feeling the pressure to reduce, another hold isn’t good enough for borrowers. In fact, it could be too late.
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Charles Breen0
Founder at C B
The Bank of England is seen as impotent by a sizeable percentage of the general public., The average person now can see the emperor has no clothes, with the Bank of England almost always behind the curve. It’s only a matter of time before Andrew Bailey’s resignation is demanded.
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Gary Bush0
Financial Adviser at MortgageShop.com
The Bank of England surveying the public should surely show them that the attitude of the general public is that the rich boys in control are driving them over the cliff edge. It's great that the Bank of England uses the word satisfaction in their responses, but do they truly know the meaning of the word? Where is the value in the current system that the general public is asking/praying for? Let's hope that, at the next Monetary Policy Committee meeting on 21st March, all committee members have received, read, AND absorbed this data and act on it before putting another nail in the country's coffin.