Director at Fairinvestment.co.uk, James Caldwell comments on the Bank of England’s decision to cut the base rate by a further 0.5 per cent – to the lowest level since the Bank was formed in 1694.

“Base rate now stands at just one per cent and is edging closer and closer to zero, which potentially means good news for mortgage holders. But the reality is that mortgage rates remain well above the base rate, and the only people feeling the affects are savers whose returns have been slashed by more than half since the beginning of the credit crunch.

“The more that interest rates are being cut, the clearer it is becoming that more needs to be done as the rate cuts continuously fail to produce the desired effect, which is to boost lending.

“The Government is introducing further measures, but essentially more pressure must be put on lenders to pass the interest rate cuts on to consumers and businesses when they need it most.”