Bank of England/Savanta Inflation Attitudes Survey - August 2026
Following a competitive re-tendering process, Savanta became the provider of the Inflation Attitudes Survey from August 2026. To assess the impact of this change, a parallel run of the survey was conducted by both Ipsos and Savanta in May. In the parallel run, inflation perceptions were the same in both the Ipsos and the Savanta surveys, at 5.0%. However, inflation expectations at all of the 1yr, 2yr and 5yr ahead horizons were lower in the Savanta survey. Median one-year, two-year and five-year ahead expectations were 3.6%, 3.1% and 3.3% respectively in the Savanta survey, compared with 4.0%, 3.5% and 3.9% respectively in the Ipsos survey. Comparisons of changes inflation expectations between the headline May results (Ipsos) and the headline August results (Savanta) should therefore be treated with caution, as in part they reflect changes in the provider as well as like-for-like changes in expectations.
This news release describes the results of the Bank of England’s latest quarterly survey of public attitudes to inflation.
From August 2026, the survey has been conducted on the Bank of England’s behalf by Savanta, prior to that it was conducted by Ipsos. Savanta interviewed a quota sample of people aged 16-75 across the United Kingdom; the sample was surveyed between 31 July and 7 August 2026.
Please note since May 2020 the survey changed from being conducted face-to-face to online. This change resulted in a methodological break in the series in May 2020. For example, the proportions of respondents who answered “Don’t know/ No idea” to the May survey’s questions declined substantially. That perhaps reflected the design of the online questionnaire, where the option of “Don’t know/ No idea” appeared only if the respondent tried to move onto the next question without giving an answer. In the surveys since August 2020 however, the option of “Don’t know/ No idea” appeared in the same showcard as the other options. The proportions of respondents answering “Don’t know/ No idea” returned to usual levels for most questions in the August 2020 and subsequent surveys.
These mode of collection changes mean caution should be taken when making comparisons across the latest twelve surveys and May 2020 and with previous vintages, which were based on face-to-face interviews.
More details about the methodology applied in the surveys since May 2020 can be found in the ‘Methodology and notes – online survey’ attachment and that of previous surveys in the ‘Methodology and notes – face-to-face survey’ attachment.
Highlights from the Survey
Question 1: Asked to give the current rate of inflation, respondents gave a median answer of 4.9%, down from 5% in May 2026.
Question 2a: Median expectations of the rate of inflation over the coming year were 3.2%, down from 4% in May 2026.
Question 2b: Asked about expected inflation in the twelve months after that, respondents gave a median answer of 2.9%, down from 3.5% in May 2026.
Question 2c: Asked about expectations of inflation in the longer term, say in five years’ time, respondents gave a median answer of 3.2%, down from 3.9% in May 2026.
Question 3: By a margin of 64% to 8%, survey respondents believed that the economy would end up weaker, rather than stronger, if prices started to rise faster, compared to 78% and 4% respectively in May 2026.
Question 4: 36% of respondents thought the inflation target was ‘about right’, down from 39% in May 2026. The proportions saying the target was ‘too high’ or ‘too low’ were 35% and 16% respectively.
Question 5: 51% of respondents said that interest rates on things such as mortgages, bank loans and savings had risen over the past 12 months, up from 49% in May 2026. Meanwhile, 11% of respondents thought that interest rates had fallen over the past 12 months, down from 18% in May 2026.
Question 6: When asked about the future path of interest rates, 51% of respondents expected rates to rise over the next 12 months, down from 53% in May 2026. 27% said they expected rates to stay about the same over the next twelve months, up from 23% in May 2026 and 11% said they expected rates to decline over the next twelve months, unchanged from 11% in May 2026
Question 7: Asked what would be ‘best for the economy’ – higher interest rates, lower rates or no change – 19% thought rates should ‘go up’, up from 12% in May 2026. 32% of respondents thought that interest rates should ‘go down’, compared to 38% in May 2026. 28% thought interest rates should ‘stay where they are’, up from 26% in May 2026.
Question 8: When asked what would be ‘best for you personally’, 24% of respondents said it would be better for them if interest rates were to ‘go up’, up from 23% in May 2026. 30% of respondents said it would be better for them if interest rates were to ‘go down’, down from 34% in May 2026.
Question 14: Respondents were asked to assess the way the Bank of England is ‘doing its job to set interest rates to control inflation’. The net satisfaction balance, the proportion satisfied minus the proportion dissatisfied, was 5%, up from -2% in May 2026.
Long-run summary results dataLegal Disclaimer:
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