Reeves is praying Bailey and co will pull that growth lever soon

Last week's spending review revealed Rachel Reeves's plan for reviving the UK's struggling economy, but one of the most powerful levers for unleashing growth lies out of her reach, at the Bank of England.

- Heather Stewart

Last week's spending review revealed Rachel Reeves's plan for reviving the UK's struggling economy, but one of the most powerful levers for unleashing growth lies out of her reach, at the Bank of England. Yesterday's no-change decision on interest rates from the Bank's nine-member monetary policy committee (MPC) was widely expected; but the chancellor and her colleagues will be fervently hoping for a cut in August, perhaps sooner - and more before the year is up.

The Bank's governor, Andrew Bailey, had already warned that the pace of rate cuts looked uncertain, as a result of Donald Trump's trade wars. The alarming prospect of a fresh conflict in the Middle East is likely to have made MPC members even more cautious.