Conservative-held seats in Britain’s commuter belt are set to be hardest hit by the government’s mortgage premium, new figures shows.
Data published in the Census last week catalogued the areas with the largest proportion of households that have a mortgage.
Now an analysis by the Liberal Democrats, using the Census data, has revealed the top ten constituencies set to face the most severe shocks from rising mortgage costs.
The area with the highest proportion of mortgage borrowers is Andrea Leadsom’s seat of South Northamptonshire, with 20,420 (almost 40 per cent) households owning their home with a mortgage or loan.
Second is John Redwood’s seat of Wokingham, where 40 per cent or 18,695 households have a mortgage. The Conservative MP is defending a wafer-thin majority of 7,383 against the Lib Dems.
Cabinet minister Dominic Raab’s constituency of Esher and Walton comes tenth, with 38 per cent of 17,438 households having a mortgage. He is defending a slim majority of just 2,743.
Also in the top ten is Conservative MP Mary Robinson’s seat. The constituency has 14,866 households with a mortgage making up 38 per cent of the total.
Michael Gove’s seat of Surrey Heath weighs in at 15th the list, with 38 per cent of people there owning their home with a mortgage or loan.
Some 48 of the top 50 seats with most mortgage borrowers are Conservative-held, one is Lib Dem, and the other is a Labour seat.
It was revealed this week by the Office for National Statistics that 1.4 million households are set to see their mortgages rise this year alone.
The Bank of England has suggested a typical household exiting a fixed-rate deal will face a hit of around £3,000 in additional interest payments this year.
Previous polling has found two thirds (68%) of 2019 Conservative voters blame the government for their mortgages going up.
The Liberal Democrats are calling for a mortgage rescue fund to support homeowners hardest hit by soaring mortgage prices.
Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said: “This Conservative government has betrayed homeowners by adding thousands of pounds to people’s mortgages.
“Millions of people now face having to cut back or even sell their home, with commuter belt areas set to be hardest hit.
“Conservative MPs across the Blue Wall face a reckoning at the next election unless they fix this mortgage nightmare.
“People will never forgive the Conservative Party for crashing the economy, sending mortgages spiralling and making the public pay to clean up their mess.”
The top ten constituencies set to be hit hardest by rising mortgage costs are as follows:
- South Northamptonshire – 39.94 per cent
- Wokingham – 39.87 per cent
- Mid Bedfordshire – 39.09 per cent
- Old Bexley and Sidcup – 38.32 per cent
- Dartford – 38.26 per cent
- South Derbyshire – 38.25 per cent
- Pudsey – 38.05 per cent
- Cheadle – 38.03 per cent
- North East Hampshire – 37.99 per cent
- Esher and Walton – 37.92 per cent
