£53.6 million mortgage bombshell in Lewes and Wealden as over 17,000 households forced to remortgage last year

Households across Wealden and Lewes Districts who remortgaged last year face a £53.6 million annual mortgage bombshell amidst spiralling interest rates following Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget new research by the House of Commons Library, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

More than 14% of households across Wealden and Lewes remortgaged their home last year, resulting in an average of additional hit of over £250 every month. The 17,058 households who were forced to remortgage saw a collective additional hit of £53.6 million.

Local Liberal Democrats have said that the research shows that the Conservative government’s boasts over inflation reaching 2.3% will “ring hollow” in the face of such startling increases in mortgage payments which have been “pushing families to the brink”.

James MacCleary, Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Lewes constituency which covers parts of both Wealden and Lewes Districts, said: Spiralling mortgage rates have been pushing families to the brink. Seeing the Chancellor on TV this week celebrating a small decrease in inflation is just another slap in the face for millions struggling to make ends meet as a direct result of Conservative economic incompetence. 

“The aftershocks of Liz Truss’s disastrous mini budget have saddled thousands of households in our area with years of increasingly unaffordable monthly payments and the real threat of many losing their homes.

“This Conservative government has proven themselves utterly unfit to oversee our economy and it is families in our community who are paying the price for their staggering incompetence.

“The Prime Minister’s boasts about new inflation figures today will ring hollow to the thousands across our local towns and villages who have borne the brunt of the cost of living crisis and are struggling to put food on the table. The Conservative party does not deserve to be in office for a moment longer.”

Research from the House of Commons Library can be found here. The figures include households on variable rates, not just those on fixed rates that expired.