Around 100,000 homeowners will be faced with higher mortgage payments between now and the 4 July election, the Liberal Democrats have found.
Research commissioned by the political party, based on data from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), suggested this would amount to more than 3,300 households per day seeing a rise in their monthly mortgage payments.
It found homeowners would be subjected to an average increase of £240 per month.
The Lib Dems said Rishi Sunak’s claim that his economic plan was working after inflation fell to 2.3%, nearing the Bank of England’s 2% target, showed he was living in a “parallel universe” as families were dealing with higher mortgage payments.
It said the Prime Minister would be facing a “blue wall reckoning”, with its data suggesting people in its stronghold constituencies Taunton Deane, Tewkesbury and North East Cambridgeshire were the worst impacted by higher household costs.
In total, homeowners will be collectively paying an extra £290m more in mortgage costs over the next year.
This comes after data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed mortgaged households had an inflation rate of 5.5% in the year to March, which was largely down to the rise in mortgage rates.
Government ‘crashed the economy’
Sarah Olney, Liberal Democrat treasury spokesperson, said: “This Conservative government crashed the economy and now they are condemning hard-working households to a mortgage nightmare.
“Rishi Sunak’s claim that the government’s plan is working shows he is living in a parallel universe, as everyday thousands of families are seeing their mortgage go up by eye-watering amounts.
“The Prime Minister is set for a blue wall reckoning in key battleground seats, where fed-up voters are ready to say enough is enough with this out-of-touch Conservative government on 4 July.”
Shekina is the deputy editor at Mortgage Solutions and commercial editor at Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions. She has nearly eight years of experience in the B2B publishing market, having previously covered the hospitality, retail, pet, accounting and jewellery sectors.
Shekina has worked for Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions for almost five years. Here, she covers the market’s breaking news stories, engages with professionals in the sector, and oversees any commercially agreed content in partnership with mortgage-related companies.
This includes presenting webinars and hosting roundtable discussions on developing themes in the mortgage sector.
She is an NCTJ-trained journalist and was nominated for the Headline Money Awards Mortgage Journalist of the Year in 2021.
In her spare time, Shekina likes to read, travel, listen to music and socialise with friends.
She currently reports on current events in the mortgage market and liaises with financial clients to produce sponsored content.
Follow her on Twitter at @ShekinaMS