Households Have Paid £13,961 More in Bills Since 2021
The average household has spent that much extra on mortgages, loans, energy and water over five years, about £2,792 a year, on an analysis of official figures by the trades union body. It argues the squeeze is itself holding the economy back, and that Britain has recorded the weakest growth in consumer spending in the group of seven since before the pandemic.
The composition matters more than the total. Mortgage holders have paid £9,034 more since 2021, about £1,806 a year; electricity and gas account for £2,644, water for £372 and other loans for £1,911. Rents have risen faster than mortgages, which suggests landlords have been passing their own costs on. Paul Nowak, the general secretary, puts the politics plainly: “When the crackpots in the White House or the Kremlin launch an illegal war, everyone pays the price in their bills.” What is being asked for in a fortnight is now reasonably clear. The unions want a social energy tariff, a higher rate of capital gains tax and higher taxes on banks. A centre-left research institute wants £16bn raised, mostly from capital gains with a new exemption for entrepreneurs, to fund a cap on private rent rises, a £2,000 ceiling on energy bills, a fuel duty freeze and higher housing allowances. Business wants close to the opposite: a cut to employer national insurance and to electricity costs. The chancellor has promised “breathing space” while warning his resources are limited.