2,589 households in Milton Keynes are part of the 630,000 more homeowners across the UK set to be worse off because of ‘soaring mortgage bills’ by May’s local elections, new analysis from the Labour Party reveals.

The analysis, based on figures from the Office of National Statistics, reveals that more than 3,400 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 recently said that the average monthly repayment has risen by £220 for families coming off fixed term mortgages.

Milton Keynes City Council has this year launched the £250,000 Homeowner Mortgage Interest Relief Fund to help homeowners at risk of having their properties repossessed. The fund provides a one-off allowance to give struggling families more time to secure long-term finance and prevent defaulting on their mortgage.

Nationally, 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. 

Councillor Pete Marland, Labour Leader of Milton Keynes City Council, said:

“The Conservatives crashed the economy, and families in Milton Keynes are paying the price. Households all over the city are already struggling with rising mortgage bills – and there are many more set to be hit before the local elections.

“We’re doing all we can by providing short-term relief for homeowners, but the truth is Milton Keynes 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, added:

“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.”