Analysis by Labor has found that the average homeowner is spending an extra £150 every week since Liz Truss and Quasi Kwarteng’s infamous mini-budget in September.
Home owners are being hit by a £7,000 “Tory mortgage penalty”, Labor has claimed, with interest rates tripling from two years ago.
Pat McFadden, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, blamed what he called “reckless economic risk-taking” taken by Liz Truss and Quasi Kwarteng during their brief spells in power.
Labor’s analysis found the average homeowner is spending an extra £150 every week since its infamous mini-budget last September, which sent the pound crashing and mortgage rates soaring.
Mortgage interest payments now average £223 a week – an increase of £7,000 a year, the opposition claims.
Labor said those with a 75% loan-to-value mortgage faced average rates of up to 4.63% in April.
The same mortgage deal had an interest rate of 1.49% in April 2021, two-thirds less.
Mr McFadden said: “Britain’s home owners continue to suffer thanks to the Tories’ reckless economic gamble.
“This Tory mortgage crackdown has increased the cost of home ownership by thousands of pounds a year, causing huge anxiety for families, while putting the prospect of owning a home further out of reach for many.
“Rishi Sunak may want to forget the economic misery the Tories have caused, but the public can’t forget about it as their costs rise.”
“My mortgage went from £790 to £1,450”
In response, the Conservative Party did not address Labour’s criticism of mortgage rates, instead focusing on the opposition’s decision abandon a £28bn eco-prosperity plan.
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said on Friday that drastic changes in the economic environment over the past two years meant that the party’s full spending commitment had to be delayed.
A Tory spokesman said: “Labour proved once again this week why they can never be trusted in our economy.
“Their economic credibility is in tatters after Rachel Reeves finally admitted that Labour’s borrowing boom will fuel inflation and spiral interest rates.
“The truth is that Labor will have to resort to unlimited borrowing and tax increases to fund their plans, hitting the wallets of hard-working Britons.
“The Conservatives are getting on with the job of halving inflation, growing the economy and reducing the debt.”
Labour’s research comes after some mortgage lenders temporarily withdrew some products from the market last week.
On Thursday, HSBC UK said it had temporarily removed some products so it could “remain within operational capacity”.
Nationwide Building Society, Britain’s biggest building society, has said it needs to increase fixed rates to ensure they remain sustainable.
On Thursday, the average two-year fixed-rate mortgage rate in the market for all deposit pools was 5.82%, according to Moneyfacts data, up from 5.49% at the start of June.
The average five-year fixed-rate mortgage in the market on Thursday was 5.49 percent, up from 5.17 percent at the start of the month.