Money-saving exper Martin Lewis said people in the middle are going to feel the biggest squeeze in light of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Budget.
Speaking to LBC Radio on Friday, Mr Lewis said: “I was relatively relieved that we saw the uplifting of those who are the poorest in society.”
But he added: “Clearly the people who bare the brunt on this, we’re going to have a squeezed middle.”
Mr Lewis explained that people in the middle will receive £400 in energy payments this year but not next year, meaning they will see a rise of around 41% on energy bills that have already doubled this year.
“That is just an enormous whack,” he said.
“That is why it’s people in the middle who are really going to feel the squeeze.”
Martin said he met the Chancellor earlier this week where he pushed hard for mortgage flexibility and forbearance for the “squeezed middle” ahead of spring. Mr Lewis told LBC Radio: “We will see next spring we are going to have this perfect storm of energy bills going up, cost of living continuing to rise and energy bills at their peak. My concern is what do we do to get people over that hump.”
The money saving expert said he met Jeremy Hunt earlier this week to talk about private renters and those with mortgages, where he “pushed hard for there to be some improvements in the flexibility and the forbearance in mortgage packages” such as mortgage holidays and temporarily extending repayment terms.
Mr Lewis also said they discussed Mr Hunt calling a mortgage summit with the regulator and big lenders to discuss how they are going to get people through next spring.
“That was an important section missing in the budget yesterday but I’m thinking what the Chancellor wants to do is solve that through the private sector by pushing and encouraging the private sector to make changes and I’m pushing and encouraging the Chancellor to make sure he does that,” he said.
Asked what he would put to the Chancellor, Mr Lewis said: “We’re looking at interest rates in the UK at 5% and that means higher mortgage rates when people come off their (fixed-rate mortgages) next spring – What is he going to do to protect those in the squeezed middle with mortgages and paying private rents?”
