Former Goldman Sachs senior economist Broadbent has replaced super hawk Andrew Sentance, who at the May meeting, his final month as an MPC member, voted for an increase to 1%.
At the meeting earlier this month, the committee decided to keep the base rate at 0.5% – the historic low first set back in March 2009 – while also maintaining the quantitative easing (QE) programme at £200bn.
According to the minutes, only Spencer Dale and Martin Weale of the nine-man committee sought to increase rates, by 25 basis points.
Inflation remained at a two-and-a-half year high of 4.5% in May – more than twice the Bank of England’s target.
On quantitative easing, Adam Posen was the only member to vote for a £50bn increase to £250bn.
Explaining the decisions, the minutes say: “Most members judged that it was appropriate to maintain the current stance of monetary policy at this meeting.
“The current weakness of demand growth was likely to persist for longer than previously thought. Moreover, the fiscal challenges in the euro-area periphery highlighted the potential for further adverse shocks to demand.”
The Bank’s monetary policy has continued to come under pressure with inflation holding steady at 4.5% in May, well above the government’s 2% target.
Former MPC member Andrew Sentance, who had been the earliest supporter of a hike in the interest rate, recently argued a higher exchange rate and lower export growth would be a price worth paying to prevent an inflationary spiral gripping the UK economy.
