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Source: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/aug/04/bank-of-england-cuts-uk-interest-rates

UK interest rates have been cut for the first time in seven years as part of a wide package of Bank of England measures to shore up the economy in the wake of the Brexit vote.
Live Bank of England cuts interest rates to 0.25% - live updates
Rolling coverage of the Bank of England’s interest rate decision, and quarterly inflation report

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The Bank cut official interest rates to a new record low of 0.25% from 0.5% and signalled they would be reduced further in coming months. It slashed its forecasts for UK economic growth by an unprecedented amount and implied the UK would have suffered a downturn without this new package of measures.
Warning that the decision to leave the EU in June’s referendum would stoke inflation and push up unemployment, the Bank’s monetary policy committee unveiled a four-point plan to mitigate the impact.
The package consists of:
• A cut in official interest rates to 0.25%. The Bank last cut interest rates in March 2009 in a bid to cushion the UK economy from the global financial crisis
• Plans to pump an additional £60bn in electronic cash into the economy to buy government bonds, extending the existing quantitative easing (QE) programme to £435bn in total
• Another £10bn in electronic cash will be created to buy corporate bonds from firms “making a material contribution to the UK economy”
• A new scheme to provide as much as £100bn of new funding to banks to help them pass on the base rate cut to the real economy. Under this new “term funding scheme” (TFS) the Bank will create new money to provide loans to banks at interest rates close to the base rate of 0.25%
The Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC), chaired by governor Mark Carney, also sought to reassure financial markets that there would be more easing to come this year, likely taking rates close to, but above zero.
Minutes from the MPC’s meeting showed the policymakers were not unanimous on the whole package. All nine members backed the new TFS scheme and the rate cut. The additional QE was backed by six committee members but opposed by Kristin Forbes, Ian McCafferty and Martin Weale. Forbes also voted against the other eight members on the plan to buy corporate bonds.