The Bank of England's decision to cut its benchmark interest rate for a second time came as a surprise to many, but the central bank has been paving the way for the move for several months now.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves welcomes the cut, but says she is "under no illusion about the scale of the challenge facing households".

It is good to start for once with some praise for the Bank of England. After the Hallowe’en Budget in the UK, and the fireworks of election night in the US, the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) helped to calm the nerves by delivering the expected quarter point cut in interest rates to 4.