The Bank's decision to hold interest rates was inevitable | Larry Elliot

Rate rises are off the agenda due to Brexit uncertainty and mothballed investment

By now, had things turned out differently, Theresa May would have secured the passage of her Brexit withdrawal bill through parliament and the UK would unquestionably be on course to leave the EU at the end of March.

In those circumstances, the Bank of England would be taking a very different view of the prospects for the economy and a much more hawkish view about interest rates. There would have been a good chance that at the December meeting of the Bank's monetary policy committee, at least one member would have voted for an immediate tightening of policy.