100,000 households face mortgage rate hike by polling day as Conservatives face ‘blue wall reckoning’

2 Jun 2024

EMBARGO: Immediate Release

A typical mortgage holder will see their payments rise by £240 a month
Over 3,300 households a day set to see their mortgages rise between now and polling day on 4th July
Liberal Democrats warn that Rishi Sunak faces a “blue wall reckoning” with mortgage holders in key battleground seats among the hardest hit

100,000 households will face a mortgage increase between now and polling day on 4th July, House of Commons Library research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has found.

This amounts to an average of 3,333 households a day being hit with higher mortgage rates. It comes as the Bank of England maintained interest rates at 5.25% earlier this month. A typical mortgage holder will see their payments rise by £240 a month.

The Lib Dem-commissioned analysis by the House of Commons Library, based on data from the Financial Conduct Authority, found that households will face an increase to their mortgages ahead of General Election polling day on 4th July.

The Lib Dems said Rishi Sunak’s claim that his economic plan is working shows he is living in a “parallel universe,” at a time when families are saddled with hundreds of pounds a month more on their mortgage.

The party said the Prime Minister is set for a “blue wall reckoning” with the data showing Liberal Democrat - Conservative battlegrounds such as Taunton Deane, Tewkesbury and Steve Barclay’s seat of North East Cambridgeshire among the worst affected.

In total, households coming off fixed rate mortgages ahead of polling day will pay an additional £290 million in mortgage costs over the next year.

Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson, Sarah Olney 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 every day 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 4th July.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

House of Commons Library research can be found here.

How much more will households be paying when they come off their fixed rate deals?

Monthly mortgage repayments are projected to increase by an average of around £240 for people coming off fixed rate deals.

This is a projected increase for “the typical owner-occupier mortgagor rolling off a fixed rate between 2023 Q2 and the end of 2026”.

If we apply this figure to the 100,000 fixed rates ending in June, this suggests an additional £24 million in monthly payments for these households (equivalent to £290 million annually for these households).

Source: Bank of England Financial Stability Report - December 2023.