THE Bank of England’s first interest rate cut in more than four years needs to be “the first of many” as millions of families and businesses grapple with sky-high bills and mortgages, the TUC said today.

The bank played down hopes for any dramatic shifts after its monetary policy committee voted to cut rates from 5.25 per cent to 5 per cent, with experts predicting the next to be in November.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “This rate cut will give relief to millions of families and businesses — and needs to be the first of many.

“Working people didn’t cause the huge spike in inflation. But they have paid the price for the Conservatives’ economic failures with sky-high bills and mortgage payments.”

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham, however, said it was “too little, too late,” as she called for “decisive action” from the bank and government, including “a clear roadmap for future rate cuts and a programme of serious investment in our public services and industry to get us out of this crisis.”

“Interest rates still stand at historic highs and this small cut will offer little help to workers struggling with the cost-of-living crisis and record housing costs,” she said.

Carsten Jung, senior economist at think tank Institute for Public Policy Research, said that with inflation back to pre-pandemic levels and the labour market cooling, “now is the time for the bank to signal clearly that it will continue lowering interest rates in the coming months.”

He added: “The Bank of England was right to cut interest rates today, but it has waited too long to do so.

“The bank has been holding back the UK’s economic recovery by underappreciating the long-term effect of high interest rates.

“The UK is still 6 per cent below its pre pandemic growth path, behind the United States and the eurozone — and the bank today confirmed that it expects growth to remain weak.”

The bank’s latest set of quarterly forecasts show that the consumer prices index (CPI) inflation could drop below its target, to as low as 1.7 per cent in the next two years or 1.5 per cent in three years’ time, suggesting that it will need to cut rates at a faster pace than markets predicted at the time of its forecasts.