It would be 'manifestly unfair' to use taxpayers' money to subsidise mortgages, Tom Swarbrick says
2 August 2023, 19:03 | Updated: 2 August 2023, 19:10
Tom Swarbrick reacts to Rishi Sunak telling struggling homeowners to 'talk to their bank'
Rishi Sunak advises homeowners to 'talk to their banks' for solutions to mortgage hikes, and Tom Swarbrick sympathises with this suggestion.
Speaking on Nick Ferrari at Breakfast on LBC, Rishi Sunak responded to a caller who is struggling to pay their mortgage.
The Prime Minister said: "In the short term for you or anyone else who's worried about this, you should talk to your bank. And what we've agreed is a mortgage charter with the lending industry so you can talk to your bank and you can do a couple of things with them.
"You could extend the term of your mortgage by, say, five or ten years, or you could switch to an interest only mortgage."
READ MORE: Rishi Sunak tells homeowner facing £2,700 monthly mortgage repayments: 'Talk to your bank'
Tom Swarbrick shared his view on what the PM said, saying: "The answer that I think Sunak wants to give - which is way more brutal and which he sort of can’t give because it does sound nasty...
"Is there is absolutely no way the state is going to intervene to help you pay your mortgage. No chance."
"Lying underneath the answer is this truth," Tom began, "It would be manifestly unfair to use taxpayers money to help bail out people like me and like this chap here who got into a lot of debt to buy our houses when money was cheap".
Tom argued that when it came to COVID and energy bills "the government stepped in massively with both" but with this "the reality is you are sort of on your own".
He concluded: "And I think that's right, I'm sorry."
Being a homeowner himself, Tom sympathised with those struggling but argued you can't ask people who have never been able to afford a home to foot the bill for those who previously could afford it, but are now struggling.
