The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has once again voted to keep the Bank Rate at 0.5%.

It has also left quantitative easing unchanged.

This means that Bank Rate has stayed the same now for four years.

Barry Naisbitt, chief economist at Santander UK, said: “The decision to hold Bank Rate was widely expected. However, after the split votes on the Monetary Policy Committee in the past two months, the decision on whether to undertake further quantitative easing (QE) this month again looked finely balanced.

” The uncertainty about the underlying pace of economic activity remains, with the latest survey-based activity indicators showing continued weakness in the manufacturing and construction sectors. In addition, the February Inflation Report showed that inflation was expected to remain above its 2% target for the next couple of years, so households’ real earnings are expected to continue to be squeezed.

“Although the MPC did not vote to extend QE today, it is clearly possible that more QE could be announced in the coming months to boost economic activity.”