Tory strongholds hardest hit by rising rates

TORY commuter towns have suffered the biggest hit from soaring mortgage costs, new figures reveal.

Homeowners in Conservative strongholds outside of London experienced the sharpest rise in housing costs last year, as 1.4m fixed-term mortgages were up for renewal.

Analysis from the Office for National Statistics shows that families in towns such as Uttlesford, Tonbridge, Malling and Tandridge were at the sharp end of rate rises. This will increase pressure on senior Tory MPS such as Kemi Badenoch, Tom Tugendhat and Claire Coutinho before the next election, all of whom have constituencies in the commuter belt.

Homeowners remortgaging in Elmbridge, which falls within the constituency of former deputy prime minister Dominic Raab, saw monthly costs rise by £456 last year, ONS figures show.

In Waverley, where Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, is the local MP, around one in six households renewed their mortgages last year and are now on average paying an extra £325 a month. Mr Hunt last month said that falling interest rates could spark a “feel-good factor” for voters before an Autumn election.

However, banking on a boost from imminent rate cuts could prove optimistic given how many voters in Conservative heartlands have already experienced considerable cost hikes.

Traders are also now expecting that the Bank of England will only lower interest rates twice this year, down from a 16-year high of 5.25pc.

This is significantly more pessimistic than forecasts made late last year of seven rate cuts throughout 2024.