will the annoncement that the recession is over push interest rates up again? If so should we switch to a fixed rate mortgage soon?

[Chrysanthamum]

Just wondering since our mortgage payments went down over the last year. The recession hit us in other ways so we struggle to make our payments. We're just on standard variable rate now so if interest rates rise even a little we'll be really under pressure. Any advice on good deals out there?
advice appreciated?

Recession is an academic concept for economists.
The real truth is that the economy will continue to feel painful to most people for a long while. Unemployment will continue to rise almost certainly. People out of jobs don't buy much... so can't see inflation rising except as the result of govt. spending that's already happened which has to plummet soon or the consequences don't bear thinking about for economy as a whole.

So basically, I (amateur observer) don't expect rates to rise at all in short term.

It will very much depend on what your circumstances are re. Loan tTo Value (LTV) and how much security you want. Recently fixed rates have been falling and if security of a fixed rate is more important i.e. you really want to have no-uncertainty its good to do. Go to the MoneySavingExpert.com website and read up the mortgage guides there. Good to find an independant broker. Probably interest rates will rise but not sure when and the most likley outlook is that it will be quite slow.