One unfortunate side-effect of Covid was that the public got used to the idea that Government bailouts are right there when you need them.
Been furloughed? We’ll cover most of your salary. Struggling with mortgage payments? Take a few months off.
Can’t pay the taxman? Oh, have a tax holiday on us.
These were all Rishi Sunak schemes while he was Chancellor, and during the pandemic they were vital.
Some of us wondered then what would happen later, when still struggling consumers and homeowners wanted further help that couldn’t realistically be forthcoming.
Today Sunak, now the PM, said there will be no support for mortgage holders dealing with dramatic rises in borrowing costs as they come up to renew deals that are suddenly much more expensive. It is hard to see how he could do otherwise, nor where that extra support might stop.
Would it be just to those remortgaging this year? What about folk facing similarly large jumps in rent? Would buy-to-let mortgage borrowers also qualify?
No — the best thing here would be for the Bank of England to reverse-ferret and delay the rate rise it has heavily pencilled in for Thursday.
That might at least give mortgage and gilts markets time for a breather and time to reassess.
This would be an egg-on-the-face situation for the Governor Andrew Bailey, prompting further barracking from the terraces that he doesn’t know what he’s doing.
It would also be the right thing to do and a brave thing to do.
