Nine members and a Treasury seat without a vote: how the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee is put together

Background

Behind every change in Bank Rate stands one committee. The Bank of England explains that its Monetary Policy Committee has nine members. Five of them hold posts inside the bank: the Governor, three Deputy Governors, for Monetary Policy, for Financial Stability and for Markets and Banking, and the bank's Chief Economist. The other four are external members appointed directly by the Chancellor, so that the committee gets thinking from outside the bank. Members serve fixed terms and may then be replaced or reappointed; they are independent and do not represent any group or region. A representative of HM Treasury also sits with the committee at its meetings and may discuss policy, but is not allowed to vote. Andrew Bailey is the Governor of the Bank of England and Huw Pill is its Chief Economist. The committee's economic analysis and inflation projections are set out in the Monetary Policy Report, which the bank brings out every quarter.