By Bill Heaney
Ahead of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, Liberal Democrat Scotland spokesperson Christine Jardine MP has warned struggling households face an eye-watering “triple whammy” hit and demanded that the UK Government instead target the energy giants and banks making bumper profits.
Ahead of the Autumn Statement on Thursday, the Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to put a proper windfall tax on the profits of the fossil fuel giants. They are also calling for the introduction of a new Mortgage Protection Fund and to increase pensions and benefits at least in line with inflation.
Christine Jardine MP said: “After inflicting so much chaos, the Conservatives are making the rest of us pay to clear up their mess. Struggling households face a triple whammy from energy bills, mortgages and the freezing of the personal allowance.
LibDem MP Christine Jardine wants the Government to put a proper windfall tax on the profits of the fossil fuel giants.
“Mortgages have skyrocketed, the economy has tanked and Downing Street is nothing more than a revolving door of chaos. Every day the Conservatives are in office, families and pensioners suffer.
“This SNP/ Green government also needs to focus on what really matters. They should stop distracting themselves with a bid to break up the UK and do far more to help families in crisis.
“We need a fair deal, including a boost to pensions and benefits. The government should bring in a proper windfall tax and make sure banks pay their fair share, instead of imposing years of painful stealth taxes on ordinary families.”
Meanwhile, the government has confirmed that their Energy Price Guarantee will end in April 2023 and the price cap mechanism will return. Under the Energy Price Guarantee the average bill is £2,500. Energy experts Cornwall Insight predict that the price cap in Q2 of next year will be £3,702 for the average household. That means that average bills will increase by £1,202.
Mortgages: Due to Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s disastrous mini-budget, a typical family will see an annual increase of around £3,000 in their mortgage payments, due to soaring interest rates in the aftermath of the mini-budget.
In its latest Monetary Policy Report from this month, the Bank of England said that the typical household exiting a fixed-rate deal this year will face a hit of around £3,000. See page 53 of the report here.
Around a quarter of mortgages will reach the end of their fixed term between now and the end of 2023. Among those mortgagors, the Bank said that the median outstanding balance is around £130,000, with an average remaining term of around 20 years and an average interest rate of around 2.0%.
According to the Bank, a typical increase of 3.5 percentage points in the mortgage rate (taking it to 5.5%) would add £3,000 to the annual bill.
On Income Tax, next year the Personal Allowance will remain at £12,570. Without the stealth tax two-year freeze, it would have stood at £14,270.