MPC's Weale: Rate cut is preferable to more QE

Bank of England monetary policy committee member Martin Weale has said he would prefer a base rate cut to further quantitative easing, were the Bank to unveil more stimulus measures.

In an interview with the Scottish Herald, Weale (pictured) said an interest rate cut would be preferable to more QE, providing it could be shown that a cut would not cause banks to rein in lending. Weale was one of seven MPC members to vote for a further £50bn of QE last month, bringing the total amount of easing to £375bn, though the effectiveness of the bond-buying programme has increasingly been called into question. "If it were clear that the interest rate could be reduced ...