Rachel Reeves has, again, been caught out using dodgy stats. In the Commons last week, Rachel claimed “average mortgage payments will be going up by a crippling £2,900 this year”. She doubled down on it again this week, saying”millions of homeowners” will face the same increase – a hefty sum…

Turns out, it’s also an incorrect one. According to Full Fact, the Shadow Chancellor was referencing figures from the Resolution Foundation – figures which do not reflect the average mortgage increase in one year for homeowners generally. The number, in fact, represents the average increase specifically to households with fixed-rate mortgages expiring in 2024, on the assumption that they go on to remortgage with another fixed deal of similar length. According to the Resolution Foundation, those with fixed rate mortgages expiring in 2023 and 2024 account for under half of all UK mortgage holders.

This isn’t even the only time the party has repeated the claim. Starmer twice referenced the statistic – albeit less specifically – at PMQs, and the party have also forked out to plaster the claim all over social media through paid for advertising. Guido wonders whether or not they will attempt to defuse the situation…