Bank of England's handling of inflation sparks public concern

Britons are increasingly unhappy with the Bank of England’s handling of inflation, the central bank's own survey shows, with most thinking interest rise will rise even further.

The BoE’s own quarterly survey of public attitudes to inflation has found that net satisfaction with the central bank hit its lowest level since records began in 1999.

Respondents were asked to assess the way the Bank of England is ‘doing its job to set interest rates to control inflation’. The net satisfaction balance, the proportion satisfied minus the proportion dissatisfied – was -13%, down from -4% in February 2023.

When asked about the future path of interest rates, 57% of respondents expected rates to rise over the next 12 months, down from 58% in February 2023.

Myron Jobson, senior personal finance analyst at Interactive Investor, said: “There appears to be a great sense of dissatisfaction with the UK’s central bank over its grip on inflation among the members of the public who participated in the poll.”

Read more: Interest rates set to rise as pay growth jumps

Victor Trokoudes, CEO and found of smart money app Plum, commented: "The survey’s results demonstrate the credibility challenge the Bank of England is facing. Net satisfaction with how the central bank is doing its job to set rates to control inflation has reportedly hit the lowest levels since records began.

"Naturally, much of this will stem from a rising rate environment, squeezing access to credit for households and ramping up their mortgage payments, as the Bank has found it far harder than expected so far to get inflation under control.

Inflation is still running at more than four times the 2% target at 8.7%.

Still, Britons became less pessimistic about inflation in the second quarter as energy prices continued to fall.

Questioned in May, consumers expected prices to rise 3.5% over the following 12 months.

That is down from 3.9% in February and a peak of 4.9% in August, the poll of public attitude to inflation found.

Read more: Inflation: The supermarket items that have gone up in price the most

People were also less gloomy about the outlook in the 12 months after that but still expect 3% price rises in five years time.

Watch: How does inflation affect interest rates?

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