According to the Liberal Democrats, the Conservative Party’s actions over the last few months have led to a “mortgage crisis” which has led to people’s monthly mortgage payments rising by hundreds of pounds, meaning urgent action needs to be taken.
In his conference speech yesterday, which was postponed due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II, leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said that this was the “Conservative Property Penalty”, as millions of families were now struggling.
Davey continued: “Never again can the Conservatives claim to be the party of homeowners. Never again can they claim to be the party of business. Never again can they claim to be the party that balances the books.
“The Conservatives are the party of chaos. And now what worries millions of people is what happens next.”
Fund needed to prevent arrears
He proposed a new mortgage protection fund, which would “cover the extra costs for those families seeing their payments rise most sharply” and help prevent serious arrears and repossession.
Davey added that action from the Conservative government was “making it even harder for young families to get a mortgage in the first place”.
Therefore, the Liberal Democrats would campaign for stronger rights for rents, to give them more security and protection from rent hikes.
He also called for a windfall tax on fossil fuel companies, reversal of tax cuts for big banks and further help on energy bills.
The Liberal Democrat have been calling for action on mortgage payments since May this year, when research by the party showed that over half of homeowners said that the government weren’t doing enough to help with rising mortgage costs.
Anna is currently the deputy editor for Mortgage Solutions and editor for Specialist Lending Solutions. She has worked as a journalist since 2019, having secured her Gold Standard NCTJ diploma from News Associates in a fast-track six-month course.
She started her career as a report at specialist publication The Insurance Insider covering a wide range of areas before joining Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions in 2021.
In her role, she helps put together and structure the news agenda for the day and writes up press releases, reports, interviews, analyses and exclusives across both titles. She also commissions blogs for Specialist Lending Solutions and hosts online masterclasses and in-person events across the business.
She has been shortlisted for three journalism awards, which include BIBA Journalist and Media Awards Scoop of Year Award in 2020, Headline Money Mortgage Journalist of the Year Award (B2B) in 2022 and 2023.
Prior to being a journalist, Anna worked in ecommerce across Snow + Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need websites, and before that worked at specialist financial PR firm Rostrum.
In her spare time, Anna enjoys reading, seeing live music, and cooking for friends and family. When she gets a chance, she also enjoys hiking, skiing and indoor rock climbing.
