Last week’s Bank of England meeting was an important staging post towards a first UK rate cut this summer. To recap, the Bank published its monetary policy statement and quarterly Monetary Policy Report. The vote split on its rate-setting committee was 7:2 in favour of no change to rates, but this still represented a dovish shift, with two MPC members now voting for a rate cut compared to just one at its previous meeting in March. Indeed, Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden’s fresh dissenting vote for 25 basis point (bps) cut was noteworthy, given his senior role in which his voting record is usually in lockstep with Governor Andrew Bailey.