6,837 more homeowners in Cambridgeshire will be worse off due to soaring mortgage bills by next May, says East Cambs Labour’s housing spokesperson, James Bull. He said the analysis was based on figures from the Office of National Statistics and reveal that more than 3,400 UK households will re-mortgage every day in the six months between 2 November 2023 and 1 May 2024.
“The revelation comes as the Bank of England has said that the average monthly repayment has risen by £220 for families coming off fixed term mortgages,” he said.
“Labour has pledged to get Britain building again to save the dream of homeownership families by building 1.5 million homes over the next Parliament.
“This will help deliver the biggest boost to affordable housing for a generation, with social and council housing at the heart of Labour's secure homes plan and a bold plan to build the next generation of new towns.
“The Conservatives crashed the economy under Liz Truss, and families in Cambridgeshire are paying the price. Households all over Cambridgeshire are already struggling with rising mortgage bills – and there are many more set to be hit before the local elections next year.”
Mr Bull added: “The truth is Cambridgeshire can’t afford a Conservative government.
“We’ve had more than a decade of low growth, rising taxes, stagnant wages, failing public services and now to top it all off anyone with a mortgage is having to pay for the Tories’ reckless gamble with the British economy.”
Rachel Reeves MP, Labour's Shadow Chancellor, has said: “Homeowners across Britain will be worse off under the Conservatives because of soaring mortgage bills and thirteen years of economic failure.
“It was the Conservatives’ disastrous mini budget last year that crashed the economy, sent mortgage rates soaring and made the dream of homeownership a nightmare for hard-pressed families.
“Labour is now the party of economic responsibility. Our plan to grow the economy will boost housebuilding and the supply of affordable homes to buy and rent, cut household bills and make working people better off.”
LABOUR FACT FILE
Number of households coming off fixed rate mortgage deals per quarter:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/articles/howincreasesinhousingcostsimpacthouseholds/2023-01-09
Local figures:
| Local authority name | 2021 Owned with Mortgage or Loan UCI | Expected to remortgage between November and May 2023 local elections | Total Impact (£) |
| Cambridge | 12961 | 907 | £2,395,064.70 |
| East Cambridgeshire | 12933 | 905 | £2,389,890.58 |
| Fenland | 14431 | 1010 | £2,666,706.17 |
| Huntingdonshire | 28325 | 1983 | £5,234,180.06 |
| South Cambridgeshire | 29024 | 2032 | £5,363,348.35 |
| CAMBRIDGESHIRE TOTALS | 97674 | 6837 | £18,049,189.86 |
Local authority figures calculated assuming an average distribution across the UK. So in England there are 531,000 of the 630,000 expected remortgages over the next six month. Local authority figures are calculated as a proportion of that in line with local mortgage holders as a proportion of the English total.
The Bank of England said this would be an average of £220 a month: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financial-stability-report/2023/july-2023
