Voices: How the cut in interest rates might come back and bite us all

That sound you’re hearing if you’re in the vicinity of the City of London, Canary Wharf, and especially Westminster, is a collective sigh of relief, one echoed by borrowers nationwide.

The Bank of England’s decision to cut interest rates by a quarter point to 4 per cent was widely expected. The smoke signals emanating from Threadneedle Street had suggested it was a done deal.