The Bank of England cut interest rates as expected on Thursday, but policymakers said that it would take longer for inflation in Britain to return to the bank’s 2 percent target after the new government’s budget increased spending.

The central bank lowered interest rates by a quarter point, to 4.75 percent, but emphasized that future rate cuts were likely to be very gradual as inflation pressures still persisted and recent tax and spending plans by the government — now led by the Labour Party — were likely to add to price pressures. The rate cut on Thursday was the second since August, before which rates had been held at a 16-year high for about a year.

“We need to make sure inflation stays close to target, so we can’t cut interest rates too quickly or by too much,” Andrew Bailey, the governor of the central bank, said in a statement.

But, he added, if the economy evolved as policymakers expected, then rates “will continue to fall gradually from here.” One member of the nine-person rate-setting committee had voted to hold rates at 5 percent.

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