Asked again to put a percentage on his chances of succeeding on his promise, Mr Sunak declined to do so and said: “I don’t have one for you. I am working 100 per cent to deliver it and we will keep doing that. That is all I can do is just keep throwing everything at it.”
Sarah Olney, the Liberal Democrats’ Treasury spokesman, said: “Homeowners on the brink are facing yet more mortgage misery, while Rishi Sunak’s comments get more tin-eared by the day.
“It shows this Conservative government is just totally out of touch. Conservative ministers sent mortgages spiralling through all their chaos and incompetence. Now they are refusing to lift a finger to help.”
Sir John Redwood, a former Tory Cabinet minister, said the Prime Minister was going after the wrong target, adding that high taxes were having more of an impact on inflation than fixed-rate mortgages.
“My view is we have more of a supply problem than a demand problem,” he said. “High taxes are a reason for high inflation, and that is why we need lower taxes and incentives so we can grow more as a country.”
He also pledged to reduce national debt, which has reached more than 100 per cent of economic output for the first time since 1961 as government borrowing swells.
Growing the economy was another priority, but the economy is flatlining and the Bank of England is still increasing interest rates, risking the chances of a recession.
