Suffolk Chamber statement on Bank of England raising base rate to 3%

“Many Suffolk business owners will be extremely concerned at this news.

“The breath-taking rapidity with which the Bank of England is raising the base rate, and their forward forecasts of more to come, will only serve to increase companies’ costs and impede their investment and growth options.

“Recent survey after recent survey of our members shows clearly that they are being cornered by ever-increasing costs and weakening demand.

“The Bank’s projections that we may be about to experience a recession between now and the middle of 2024 should be a rallying call to the Government not to target cuts among growth-boosting elements in the forthcoming autumn statement.

“Suffolk Chamber is clear that we can grow our way out of this period in the economic cycle through an expanded programme of infrastructure investment in the county – to the benefit of the wider country. That means ensuring that investment in the Suffolk stretches of the A12, A14 and A47, in the rail junctions at both Ely and Haughley and in supporting a generation-leaping programme of 5G and EV-charging infrastructure, as well as in the skills that will support these projects, is absolutely essential.”