In politics there are bad ideas, then there are really terrible ideas and, finally, there are mortgage relief schemes at a time of soaring inflation. Such a policy would, as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt himself has admitted, make the current situation “worse, not better”. And yet, opportunists can sense their moment.
It is true, the Government intervened decisively — and rightly — during the pandemic, going as far as paying 80 per cent of people’s wages through the furlough scheme. Then, as gas prices soared following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, ministers stepped in again, subsiding energy bills. However, a repeat on mortgages would be quite different.
