Starmer says 1.7m people face higher mortgages as Tories used money like ‘casino chips’

‘Nearly a million people, paying more on their mortgage each month because his party used their money as a casino chip,’ Sir Keir told Rishi Sunak at PMQs

Sir Keir Starmer said more than a million Britons face higher mortgage payments because the Tories treated their money like “casino chips”.

The Labour leader blamed higher housing costs on the Conservatives for “crashing the economy” with last autumn’s disastrous so-called mini-budget.

Sir Keir said that as a result, 850,000 people “are paying more on their mortgages each month”. And by the end of the year he said a further 930,000 would be paying a premium because of the fallout of the financial plans.

“Nearly a million people, paying more on their mortgage each month because his party used their money as a casino chip,” Sir Keir told Rishi Sunak at PMQs.

He added: "That is why [former chancellor] George Osborne called them economic vandals who created a self-inflicted financial crisis.”

And referring to Mr Sunak’s dismissal of the multibillion-pound non-dom tax loophole last week, Sir Keir added: "Not for the Prime Minister and his ‘non-dom thing’, not for the super wealthy they gave tax cuts to, but for mortgage holders all across the country."

Sir Keir also said first-time buyers will have to save an extra £9,000 to put down a deposit on a house, which he said would take four years for an average person to save.

“To put it in a different way, in terms that the Prime Minister will understand, roughly the annual bill to heat his swimming pool,” he added.

And, turning his focus to Thursday’s local elections, Sir Keir accused Conservative councillors of “simply not wanting to build the houses local people need”.

He told the Commons: "The only power he’s given to local communities - not to build houses, and we know why he won’t change course, he admitted it last month.

"His councillors simply don’t want to build the houses local people need, so he’s given them a way out."

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was opening the final Prime Minister’s Questions before local elections in some areas in England (PA Wire)

Sir Keir added: "Why doesn’t he stop the excuses, stop blaming everyone else, and just build some houses instead?"

Mr Sunak said the last time Labour was in power that there was “no money left”, referring to a note by then-Treasury secretary Liam Byrne after the last election, which said: “I’m afraid there is no money.”

Mr Sunak also criticised Labour’s record on housebuilding, saying: "In London, the former Conservative mayor built 60,000 affordable homes in his first five years in office, how many do the current Labour mayor manage - half of that.

"In Wales, we need 12,000 new homes a year, how many have Labour built in the last year? Half of that. Labour talk and the Conservatives deliver."

The Prime Minister said the “choice before the country is clear”. “When they go to that ballot box they can see a party that stands for higher council tax, higher crime, and a litany of broken promises,” he said.

Mr Sunak added: "Meanwhile, we’re getting on with delivering what we say, with lower council tax, lower crime and fewer potholes."