Date posted: 18th Mar 2026
Members of the Yorkshire Shadow MPC almost unanimously voted to hold interest rates, however rather than the expected cuts this year several warned that the Middle East conflict might cause inflationary pressures that would lead to a rise in rates over the next few months.
The Yorkshire Shadow MPC, a partnership between Clive Owen LLP, Recognition PR and The York Press.
Jonathan Doyle, Accounts Partner at Clive Owen LLP, said: “I’d describe it as a cautious hold at the moment. I think we’re going to have to see how this plays out. I think there was an expectation that we’d be talking about rates coming down before all of this happened, but unfortunately I think we might have to prepare ourselves for the fact that they may need to go up again some time in the future as well.”
Echoing Jonathan’s comments, Stephen Harris, Tax Partner at Clive Owen LLP, who earlier this week contributed as a member of the North East Shadow MPC, added:
“The global economy is facing renewed uncertainty as the conflict in the Middle East continues to drive up energy prices. These rising costs will inevitably feed through to businesses and consumers, adding further pressure to inflation.
“Companies are already grappling with higher tax burdens following measures announced in consecutive Budgets, particularly those in the hospitality and retail sectors, where increases to National Insurance contributions and the National Minimum Wage are making recruitment and investment decisions more difficult. The proposed Employment Rights Bill is also adding to the uncertainty, with many employers becoming more cautious about hiring as they assess the potential impact of new regulations.
“With inflation still around 3.2%, well above the Bank of England’s 2% target, a cautious hold in interest rates would be understandable while these pressures persist.”
Steve Lowe, Sales Director at Newsquest, the parent company of The York Press, said: “My reason to hold is sentiment. I think people are nervous and we don’t want to scare people away at the minute from investing. I think if we put rates up people will batten down the hatches even further and I don’t think the economy can afford for people to do that.”
Beckie Hart, Regional Director Yorkshire & the Humber for the CBI, said: “I voted for hold because inflation could have a quite serious impact. I think higher oil prices could have a 0.5% rise in the inflation rate.”
Luke Lodge, partner at Evelyn Partners a leading wealth management firm, said: “The energy inflation might be masking broader disinflation in the wider market. Hopefully, the inflation on energy prices is transitory and we start to see the position settle over the coming months. The broader UK economy is fragile at the moment, with a cooling labour market so in an ideal world we would like to bring rates down not put them up. That’s why my view is hold.”
Kerry Hope, director at Castle Employment, voted for a cut, she said: “Just a slight reduction I think would help businesses thinking about investment and offer some more stability and predictability.
Graham Robb, senior partner at Recognition PR, said: “I voted to keep them the same. Having said that we may have to put them up in a few months because the government is not causing inflation to diminish. It’s still spending lots of money. It’s not tackled things like welfare, in fact some of its taxes are inflationary like air passenger duty and if it goes through with it fuel duty. So really the only policy making that can grip inflation is money supply and I want to hold or even possibly rise in the future.”
Dave Broadbent, from insolvency practitioners Begbies Traynor, said: “It’s too much uncertainty at the moment. I think we’ve got to find out what’s going to happen in the next couple of months. I think the only way to combat inflation is an increase three or four months down the line unfortunately.”
Richard Peak, managing director of Helmsley Group, said: “Mine was a reluctant hold, I would have preferred to have voted for a drop to try and kickstart the property market but now is just not the time. I think we’ve just got to see where we are and keep everything on hold at the moment and see what transpires in the next few months for everyone.”
You can watch the full Yorkshire Shadow MPC meeting for March 2026 via the video link below:
