Keir Starmer tells PM to 'locate his nerve' as nation grapples with soaring interest rates and mortgage costs
28 June 2023, 12:58
Rishi Sunak was accused by MPs of patronising the public by telling them to ‘hold their nerve’ over the rising price of mortgages.
The Prime minister said at PMQs that the government was “taking practical steps to support mortgage holders” with a series of changes announced in recent days to help people cope with the mounting cost.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused him of “giving up”.
“Mortgage holders will be £2,900 poorer under the Tories. How can they claim to be the party of home ownership?”
But Mr Sunak hit back accusing Labour of holding up the creation of new homes.
Mr Sunak should “locate” his nerve instead of telling the public to hold theirs, Sir Keir said.
But he was accused by Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader at Westminster of “patronising” people.
He accused the PM of being “out of touch” and questioned whether Mr Sunak has ever struggled to pay a bill in his life.
A series of measures were announced earlier this week to help people cope with the surging cost of mortgage repayments.
Banks met the Chancellor and agreed there will be a minimum 12 month period before a home is repossessed.
Read more: Changes to mortgages announced to help households struggling with soaring interest rates
Borrowers will also be able to make a temporary change to their mortgage terms, for example by switching to an interest-only deal, then will be able to return to their original deal within six months without impacting their credit scores.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt hailed the "important" agreements with banks and lenders.
"There are two groups of people that we are particularly worried about. The first are people who are at real risk of losing their homes because they fall behind in their mortgage payments," he said.
"The second are people who are having to change their mortgage because their fixed rate comes to an end, and they're worried about the impact on their family finances of higher mortgage rates."
The three measures:
- Speaking to your bank if you are struggling has no impact on credit score
- Change to interest only or extend mortgage term - for six months no questions asked
- Minimum 12-month period before repossessions can occur
