(Sept 23): Barring remote sessions during Covid-19, the UK’s rate setters have gathered in London to make their decision at every meeting since the Bank of England gained independence over monetary policy. From next year, the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street will split the duty with Leeds.

In keeping with the prevailing political mood, the Monetary Policy Committee’s nine members will travel north to the BOE’s offices in the West Yorkshire city to thrash out their rate decision, inaugurating a new phase in the bank’s 332-year history. The first MPC meeting in the north may come as soon as December but is more likely to coincide with the March 18 vote next year, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions.

The decision for the MPC to make the symbolic journey coincides with UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s push to focus on the north of England, including the creation of the Number 10 North office in Manchester, where he was mayor for almost a decade. But the central bank has had a long association with Leeds, having first opened a branch there in 1827.

In 2021, when Burnham was still a twinkling in the eye of the broader UK electorate, the bank announced plans for a northern hub and moved to a larger office two years later with a goal of growing the team to 500 by 2027. Earlier this week, the BOE said it would be shifting to a new office at Capitol House in Bond Court from 2028 as it presses ahead with plans to have one in 10 of its staff based in the city.

Under the plans, the MPC will meet in Leeds only for decisions that are not accompanied by a full economic forecast, which involve more presentations by staff in the London office. The MPC has eight meetings a year, four of which come with new forecasts.

MPC members regularly travel across the country to learn what is happening in the economy from businesses and contacts, bolstering what they learn from the bank’s network of regional agents. But interest rate decisions have so far been reserved for the committee room in the bank’s listed building in the City of London.

Announcing the new office this week, BOE Governor Andrew Bailey said it was “an important milestone in our long-term commitment to the city”. Tracy Brabin, Labour’s mayor of West Yorkshire, said the decision was “a powerful endorsement of our Northern Square Mile and signals a national belief in our region’s economic future”.

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