Tory nightmare as 200,000 more families will be hit by mortgage hikes before May local elections

Almost 200,000 families will be hit by mortgage hikes before the local elections in May.

An analysis by Labour found over a million households are set to re-mortgage before the end of the year. This includes 182,000 households – or 6,100 each day – who will come to the end of their existing deals during April in the lead up to the local elections in England.

A typical household can expect to pay an additional £240 each month, according to the Bank of England.

The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee last week voted to hold interest rates at 5.25%.

James Murray, Labour’s Shadow Financial Secretary, said: “Mortgage holders across the country are worse off after 14 years of economic failure and instability under the Conservatives. Now the Tories want to unleash the further chaos with a reckless £46billion unfunded commitment.

“The Conservatives crashed the economy, and working people are paying the price with more expensive mortgage payments, higher bills, and rising prices in the shops. More than a million more people will have to remortgage before the end of the year, adding yet more pressure to household finances. Only Labour has a plan to grow the economy to boost wages, bring down bills, and get Britain’s future back.”

As he appeared on TV today, Jeremy Hunt was confronted over his claim that earning £100,000-a-year is “not a huge salary”. The Tory Chancellor has faced accusations he’s out of touch after he made the bizarre claim on X after speaking to his constituents.

In the tweet, Mr Hunt wrote: “I spoke to a lady from Godalming about eligibility for the government’s childcare offer which is not available if one parent is earning over £100k. That is an issue I would really like to sort out after the next election as I am aware that it is not [a] huge salary in our area if you have a mortgage to pay.”

As he appeared on Sky News, Trevor Phillips asked if he regretted the tweet. “It doesn’t sound right, does it, to say £100,000 is not a huge salary?” the presenter said.

Mr Hunt said: “Well, I was talking to a constituent who was pointing out to me that what sounds like a large salary when you have house prices averaging around £670,000 in my area, if you’ve got a mortgage and you’ve got childcare costs, it doesn’t go as far as you might think.”