Base Rate (Bank Rate)
The interest rate the Bank of England pays on reserves, set by the Monetary Policy Committee. It anchors variable mortgage pricing, while fixed rates follow market expectations of where it is heading.
The Bank of England's base rate (officially Bank Rate) is set eight times a year by the Monetary Policy Committee to steer inflation towards the 2% target. As of July 2026 it stands at 3.75%, held by a 7 to 2 vote at the June 2026 meeting, with both dissenters voting for a rise.
How it reaches your mortgage
- Trackers and variable rates move directly with the base rate.
- Fixed rates do not. They are priced off SWAP rates, which reflect where markets expect the base rate to go over the next two or five years. Fixed-rate products regularly get cheaper or dearer with no base rate change at all.
Reading MPC decisions as a landlord
The vote split and the minutes matter as much as the decision. A 7 to 2 hold with dissenters wanting a rise signals different risks from a 5 to 4 hold with dissenters wanting a cut. Landlords remortgaging within a year or two should stress-test at rates above today's products rather than betting on cuts arriving in time.
Decision dates are published in advance on the Bank of England website, and each announcement lands at noon on a Thursday.