Bank of England base rate: 3.75%

What the base rate is

Bank Rate is the interest rate the Bank of England pays on reserves held by commercial banks. It is the anchor for most other UK rates: tracker mortgages move with it by contract, variable rates and savings accounts move with it by convention, and fixed mortgage pricing moves earlier, on where markets expect it to go.

The Monetary Policy Committee sets it at eight scheduled meetings a year, announced at midday on a Thursday. Nine members vote, and the minutes publish the split, which is often more informative than the decision itself.

What a change does to a mortgage

On a tracker, the change lands in full at your next payment. On a standard variable rate, the lender chooses, and history says they pass rises on faster than cuts. On a fix, the rate you hold does not move at all; the change reaches you at the end of the deal, all at once. A 0.25 point rise on a £200,000 repayment mortgage with 20 years left adds £27.15 a month, and the rate change calculator shows your own numbers.

For savers the effect runs the other way: rises feed through to easy-access rates slowly and partially, so it is worth checking what your account actually pays rather than assuming it followed. The compound interest calculator shows what a rate difference compounds into.

Reading the history table

The table below lists every change since 1975 with its effective date, taken from the Bank of England's official database. Three eras stand out: the double-digit years of the late 1970s and 1980s that peaked at 17%, the long 5% plateau of the 1990s and 2000s, and the decade after 2009 pinned near zero, reaching 0.1% in March 2020. The climb from late 2021 and the slower descent since mid 2024 are the newest chapter.

MPC decision dates for 2026

Announcement	Outcome
5 February 2026	Held at 3.75%
19 March 2026	Held at 3.75%
30 April 2026	Held at 3.75%
18 June 2026	Held at 3.75%
30 July 2026	Held at 3.75%
17 September 2026	Held at 3.75%
5 November 2026	Next decision
17 December 2026	Scheduled

Every base rate change since 1975

Effective dates and rates from the Bank of England's official database, retrieved 12 September 2026. Newest first.

Date changed	Rate
18 December 2025	3.75%
7 August 2025	4%
8 May 2025	4.25%
6 February 2025	4.5%
7 November 2024	4.75%
1 August 2024	5%
3 August 2023	5.25%
22 June 2023	5%
11 May 2023	4.5%
23 March 2023	4.25%
2 February 2023	4%
15 December 2022	3.5%
3 November 2022	3%
22 September 2022	2.25%
4 August 2022	1.75%
16 June 2022	1.25%
5 May 2022	1%
17 March 2022	0.75%
3 February 2022	0.5%
16 December 2021	0.25%
19 March 2020	0.1%
11 March 2020	0.25%
2 August 2018	0.75%
2 November 2017	0.5%
4 August 2016	0.25%
5 March 2009	0.5%
5 February 2009	1%
8 January 2009	1.5%
4 December 2008	2%
6 November 2008	3%
8 October 2008	4.5%
10 April 2008	5%
7 February 2008	5.25%
6 December 2007	5.5%
5 July 2007	5.75%
10 May 2007	5.5%
11 January 2007	5.25%
9 November 2006	5%
3 August 2006	4.75%
4 August 2005	4.5%
5 August 2004	4.75%
10 June 2004	4.5%
6 May 2004	4.25%
5 February 2004	4%
6 November 2003	3.75%
10 July 2003	3.5%
6 February 2003	3.75%
8 November 2001	4%
4 October 2001	4.5%
18 September 2001	4.75%
2 August 2001	5%
10 May 2001	5.25%
5 April 2001	5.5%
8 February 2001	5.75%
10 February 2000	6%
13 January 2000	5.75%
4 November 1999	5.5%
8 September 1999	5.25%
10 June 1999	5%
8 April 1999	5.25%
4 February 1999	5.5%
7 January 1999	6%
10 December 1998	6.25%
5 November 1998	6.75%
8 October 1998	7.25%
4 June 1998	7.5%
6 November 1997	7.25%
7 August 1997	7%
10 July 1997	6.75%
6 June 1997	6.5%
6 May 1997	6.25%
30 October 1996	5.94%
6 June 1996	5.69%
8 March 1996	5.94%
18 January 1996	6.13%
13 December 1995	6.38%
2 February 1995	6.63%
7 December 1994	6.13%
12 September 1994	5.63%
8 February 1994	5.13%
23 November 1993	5.38%
26 January 1993	5.88%
13 November 1992	6.88%
16 October 1992	7.88%
22 September 1992	8.88%
5 May 1992	9.88%
4 September 1991	10.38%
12 July 1991	10.88%
24 May 1991	11.38%
12 April 1991	11.88%
22 March 1991	12.38%
27 February 1991	12.88%
13 February 1991	13.38%
8 October 1990	13.88%
6 October 1989	14.88%
8 September 1989	13.75%
4 September 1989	13.88%
31 August 1989	13.84%
25 May 1989	13.75%
25 November 1988	12.88%
25 August 1988	11.88%
8 August 1988	10.88%
21 July 1988	10.38%
7 July 1988	9.88%
24 June 1988	8.88%
10 June 1988	8.38%
3 June 1988	7.88%
17 May 1988	7.38%
8 April 1988	7.88%
17 March 1988	8.38%
1 February 1988	8.88%
3 December 1987	8.38%
4 November 1987	8.88%
23 October 1987	9.38%
6 August 1987	9.88%
8 May 1987	8.88%
28 April 1987	9.38%
18 March 1987	9.88%
9 March 1987	10.38%
15 October 1986	10.88%
23 May 1986	9.88%
18 April 1986	10.38%
11 April 1986	10.88%
19 March 1986	11.38%
15 January 1986	12.38%
26 July 1985	11.38%
11 July 1985	11.88%
19 April 1985	12.38%
28 March 1985	12.88%
20 March 1985	13.38%
28 January 1985	13.88%
14 January 1985	11.88%
23 November 1984	9.5%
19 November 1984	9.75%
5 November 1984	10%
17 August 1984	10.5%
16 August 1984	10.75%
9 August 1984	11%
8 August 1984	11.5%
11 July 1984	12%
6 July 1984	10%
29 June 1984	8.88%
10 May 1984	9.06%
14 March 1984	8.56%
7 March 1984	8.81%
3 October 1983	9.06%
10 August 1983	9.56%
9 August 1983	9.44%
14 June 1983	9.56%
13 June 1983	9.81%
14 April 1983	10.06%
13 April 1983	10.31%
15 March 1983	10.56%
12 January 1983	11%
26 November 1982	10%
2 November 1982	9.13%
1 November 1982	9.38%
12 October 1982	9.63%
30 September 1982	10.13%
29 September 1982	10.25%
28 September 1982	10.38%
27 September 1982	10.5%
27 August 1982	10.63%
26 August 1982	10.88%
25 August 1982	11%
24 August 1982	11.13%
17 August 1982	11.25%
16 August 1982	11.38%
4 August 1982	11.5%
2 August 1982	11.56%
30 July 1982	11.63%
29 July 1982	11.75%
28 July 1982	11.81%
26 July 1982	11.94%
21 July 1982	12.06%
13 July 1982	12.13%
12 July 1982	12.25%
9 July 1982	12.5%
8 June 1982	12.63%
20 April 1982	13.13%
19 April 1982	13%
16 April 1982	13.13%
10 March 1982	13.25%
25 February 1982	13.63%
22 February 1982	13.81%
22 January 1982	13.88%
21 January 1982	14%
20 January 1982	14.13%
19 January 1982	14.25%
18 January 1982	14.31%
4 December 1981	14.38%
25 November 1981	14.56%
9 November 1981	14.63%
6 November 1981	15.06%
28 October 1981	15.13%
12 October 1981	15%
15 September 1981	14%
25 August 1981	12.69%
11 March 1981	12%
25 November 1980	14%
3 July 1980	16%
15 November 1979	17%
13 June 1979	14%
5 April 1979	12%
1 March 1979	13%
8 February 1979	14%
9 November 1978	12.5%
8 June 1978	10%
15 May 1978	9%
8 May 1978	8.75%
12 April 1978	7.5%
9 January 1978	6.5%
28 November 1977	7%
17 October 1977	5%
10 October 1977	5.5%
19 September 1977	6%
12 September 1977	6.5%
15 August 1977	7%
8 August 1977	7.5%
16 May 1977	8%
2 May 1977	8.25%
25 April 1977	8.75%
18 April 1977	9%
12 April 1977	9.25%
31 March 1977	9.5%
21 March 1977	10.5%
10 March 1977	11%
3 February 1977	12%
31 January 1977	12.25%
24 January 1977	13.25%
10 January 1977	14%
29 December 1976	14.25%
20 December 1976	14.5%
22 November 1976	14.75%
7 October 1976	15%
13 September 1976	13%
24 May 1976	11.5%
26 April 1976	10.5%
8 March 1976	9%
1 March 1976	9.25%
9 February 1976	9.5%
2 February 1976	10%
26 January 1976	10.5%
19 January 1976	10.75%
5 January 1976	11%
29 December 1975	11.25%
1 December 1975	11.5%
17 November 1975	11.75%
6 October 1975	12%
28 July 1975	11%
5 May 1975	10%
21 April 1975	9.75%
24 March 1975	10%
10 March 1975	10.25%
17 February 1975	10.5%
10 February 1975	10.75%
27 January 1975	11%
20 January 1975	11.25%