SIR Keir Starmer yesterday brushed off rising mortgage rates, blaming banks’ “individual decisions”.
The PM said he was not to blame for post-Budget hikes in mortgage costs, insisting his focus was stabilising the economy.
He also admitted last week’s bleak growth figures were not “good enough” but insisted the Budget had laid the groundwork for inflation and interest rates to fall.
He told reporters: “What we have done with the Budget is to stabilise the economy and that, in my view, was the essential first step.
“As a result of that, the forecasts are for interest rates to go down, inflation to go down – you saw the figures around the Budget.”
“(Interest rates) are individual decisions for the banks, but the interest rates will be coming down.
“We had the growth figures on Thursday and Friday.
“Look, they’re not good enough, they’re not satisfactory – I want to go further than that.
“That’s why we’re working so hard to get the investment we need into the country.
“But the first step is to stabilise the economy.”
Mortgage costs have been rising – with the average rate on a two-year fixed deal now at 5.5 per cent despite a recent cut in interest rates.
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