THERE was only one thing on the mind of members of the North East Shadow MPC this month when they considered their interest rate decision - Brexit.

There was no appetite for a rise in interest rates with the current political and economic uncertainty apart from one dissenting voice who called for a rise to benefit savers.

The MPC is a partnership between The Northern Echo, the North East England Chamber of Commerce and Darlington Building Society, which considers the state of the region’s economy and gives experts from a variety of sectors the opportunity to argue their case for a shift, or hold, in the rate.

Chair of the committee and finance director at Darlington Building Society, Christopher White said: “At the moment it is clearly very difficult to forecast the UK’s economic future with the timeline on Brexit closing to the final straight. I believe the uncertainty around this means interest rate should be held but clarity is desperately needed to determine what direction we will expect the countries prospects to head. We will then see whether additional stimulus or further progress on normalising interest rates is the most appropriate direction.”

Chris McDonald, CEO of the Materials Processing Institute, said: “I am reasonably confident that I can stick with holding interest rates as they are, regardless of events. My view is that continued uncertainty around Brexit, plus the return of lower inflation prevents any possible rise, despite a tight employment market.”

Graham Robb, senior partner at Recognition PR, said: “Despite Brexit there is scope for a moderate rise in interest rates to benefit savers. Brexit can’t lead us to lose focus on giving people a good return on their savings.”

David Coates, managing director of Newsquest North East, said: “Given the continued uncertainties surrounding Brexit, now is not the time for the BoE to add to the uncertainty by increasing rates. Businesses are really starting to feel the impact of the Brexit factor: just this week a fairly significant property transaction in the Newsquest group fell through with the prospective purchaser citing Brexit and uncertainty about the future value of the pound as the reason for their withdrawal. So the real economy is now being undermined by political uncertainties and the sooner this is resolved the better.”

Jonathan Willett, Director of Stockton-based Henderson Insurance Brokers, said: “I vote for the interest rate to remain as it currently is, given the volatility with UK Economy at this present moment in time.”

Gary Ellis, partner at Clive Owen LLP, said: “My vote would be to leave unchanged – too many variables / uncertainties at the moment and – and therefore cannot add to the uncertainties by adding additional pressure on interest rates.”

Nicola Neilson of Latimer Hinks Solicitors said: “I expect that interest rates will be held at the current rate when the Bank of England MPC makes its decision next week. Unfortunately, we still don’t know whether we will be leaving the EU with or without a deal and the outcome of the vote on Wednesday evening is likely to come too late to persuade the MPC to make any changes; they won’t have time to gauge public feeling about the result of that vote before they have to make their decision. The timing of the MPC’s rates decision falls too close to both next week’s Parliamentary vote and 29 March.

In addition, inflation is still below target and I can’t see that improving whilst we await the outcome of the Brexit negotiations, if indeed there is any scope for further negotiation.

Sadly, I feel that if the Bank of England were wanting to increase interest rates, they have missed their opportunity and they may have to wait until later in the year before they can sensibly do so now.”

Nick Pope, Managing Director at Premier Tech Aqua, said: “A definite hold. There is far too much uncertainty right now and businesses are holding back investment as a result. This is compounded by very bad news regarding Nissan's decision. It is not unexpected, following Honda's decision, but extremely concerning news for the medium-term future for the 40,000 jobs in the North East supply chain dependent on Nissan.”

Beth Farhat, regional secretary northern for the TUC, said: “We don’t think there should be a rise in interest rates. Working people across the UK are facing a crisis of living standards. Ten years after the financial crisis, wages still haven’t recovered to their pre-crisis peak, and millions face insecurity at work. With the global economy slowing down and Brexit causing so much uncertainty, we cannot afford to delay the rebuilding that Britain needs. Positive action is needed from the government. We must direct more funding to public services to strengthen the economy at its core. And every community must get investment in the modern infrastructure needed for growth.”

Chris Droogan, Managing Director of Cleveland Bridge, said: “Whilst the UK enjoys near full employment and positive wage growth there are real headwinds apparent. Growth is slowing generally but particularly in the retail and construction sectors - both of which are seeing high profile failures. Both leading indicators of economic activity. Consumer confidence is being affected by Brexit uncertainty which in turn is impacting car and house sales adversely - both also leading economic indicators. Theresa May, may yet get her deal agreed, due to ERG and other Brexiters fear of losing Brexit. Whilst this would provide a way forward, I believe the uncertainty would continue whilst the detail and ramifications of this and subsequent trading agreement is negotiated over the following period. There are also indications from Europe and the wider world economy of slower growth with certain economies skirting recession. Accordingly, the BOE needs to keep instruments like interest rates on hold at present to deal with whatever unfolds over the coming months.”

Ajay Jagota, Chief Executive Officer of KIS Group, said: “I vote to hold interest rates for one reason – the Brexit vote.”

Paul Gibson of Active Chartered Financial Planners said: 'We face more uncertainty for an unknown period of time. In exchange for an extension we will likely be required to pay a substantial ongoing bill to the EU. Whilst nothing has changed on trade for the time being, it is likely that confidence in the UKs credibility would go down and all the bad news might affect consumer confidence. For now, a “steady as it goes” approach would be best with no major changes. I would recommend that no changes to interest rates are made until we get clarity.'

Catriona Lingwood, Chief Executive at Constructing Excellence in the North East, said: “With the way the Brexit debate is hanging over us and Interserve’s issues things are pretty tough for construction at the moment. I’d recommend keeping the interest rate the same.”