Why are mortgages rising?

On average, families in the UK are now spending around £530 a month more on their mortgage than they were a year ago.

After Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget which almost crashed the UK mortgage and pensions market, people’s mortgages have been dramatically on the rise.

Yet in February 20232, the Bank of England raised interest rates again, bringing them up to 4% – the highest level in 14 years.

Because of this, UK mortgage costs have risen to their highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, hitting people’s incomes hard during a Tory cost-of-living crisis.

The continued increase in mortgages is a result of higher inflation which itself is a consequence of Brexit.

Scotland never voted for Brexit and it has never voted for a Tory government in almost 70 years – nearly a lifetime. Yet homeowners in Scotland are paying the price for Westminster decisions that Scotland doesn’t support.

Far better for Scotland if the decisions that affect our economy and homes are made by the people of Scotland with independence rather than the dysfunctional Westminster system.