Labour has amped up the pressure on Rishi Sunak by setting out a five-point plan for how the party would support households with surging mortgage costs – or to use Labour’s own words, how it would “ease the Tory mortgage penalty”. Keir Starmer tried to pin the blame for rising costs – which the Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned could result in millions of homeowners losing more than 20% of their disposable incomes – squarely on the government, telling MPs during yesterday’s Prime Minister’s Questions that the cause of the “catastrophe” is “13 years of economic failure and a Tory kamikaze Budget which crashed the economy”. In reply, Sunak accused Starmer of being unaware of the “global macroeconomic situation”.
But the Prime Minister finds himself in an unenviable position. He made halving inflation over the next year a key priority for his government; the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Wednesday revealed that it remained stubbornly high at 8.7% in May. The ONS’ announcement has raised expectations that the Bank of England will again hike interest rates – increasing the cost of borrowing, including mortgages – in an attempt to lower inflation, with its decision due at midday today.
Labour’s plan – which includes requiring lenders to allow mortgage holders to temporarily switch to interest-only mortgage payments and to lengthen the term of their mortgage period – is by no means radical, though it was welcomed by the Labour Housing Group. But the absence of a government plan leaves Sunak exposed, and Labour has been able to point to Jeremy Hunt’s comments earlier this week, ruling out major financial support to mortgage holders (though Reeves herself appeared to rule out taxpayer-funded mortgage subsidies today too). The Chancellor will meet major mortgage lenders on Friday to discuss what they can do to help mortgage holders, but the government’s slowness to act despite warnings (MoneySavingExpert Martin Lewis has said he argued in December that preparations needed to be made for a scenario where interest rates soared) has allowed Labour to – at least temporarily – get on the front foot in this key political battleground.
Today marks the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush, which reached Tilbury Docks in Essex on June 22nd 1948, bringing almost 500 passengers from the Caribbean, the first of thousands encouraged to migrate. In interviews with the Mirror to mark the anniversary, Labour MPs Dawn Butler and Marsha de Cordova discuss the experiences of members of their families arriving in the UK. Butler highlights the resilience shown by her parents that they passed on to her. “They had to be resilient because that was how they survived the day. They didn’t tackle every racist abuse that they had. Sometimes they ignored it,” she told the paper. “That wasn’t weakness, that was resilience, that was how they got through.” Referencing the Windrush scandal – which saw hundreds of Caribbean migrants wrongly targeted by immigration enforcement – de Cordova says she was similarly “inspired” by her grandparents’ resilience in settling in a place where “we can’t deny they would have experienced a lot of very direct racism”.
Meanwhile, Labour has announced plans to create a “diversity tsar” intended to encourage more women, ethnic minorities and those from working-class backgrounds to stand at all levels and for all parties. The Guardian reports that the adviser will work with Angela Rayner to create an action plan to address barriers, as well as working with the Electoral Commission. The proposal was warmly welcomed by Emma McNicholas, head of political delivery at the Tony Blair Institute. But Momentum highlighted a string of working-class socialists, women and socialists of colour who they say have been “blocked” in the current round of parliamentary selections
Elsewhere, MPs yesterday rejected Labour’s attempt to force the government to resurrect the kept animals bill, which sought to crack down on dog thefts and outlaw live exports of farm animals – allowing opposition MPs to put out this emotive ad, aimed at locking down the crucial dog lover vote. And, lastly for today, Labour MSP Mercedes Villalba will set out a proposal to cap how much land individuals can own in a Scottish parliament debate, attacking “feudal” land ownership patterns which see half of Scotland’s land reportedly owned by just a few hundred individuals
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