Inflation: Commuter family facing £300 hit a month from soaring rail fares, food bills and mortgages

EMBARGO: 00:01 Wednesday 16th August

• Rail fares could go up by 10.7% next March hitting commuters with eye-watering price hikes on top of soaring mortgages and food bills

• Rishi Sunak hitting families with “triple whammy” as costs continue to spiral

• Lib Dem Leader Ed Davey calls for rail fare freeze to help families on the brink

A typical commuter belt family is facing a hit of £300 a month from rising mortgages, rail fares and food prices as the cost of living crisis continues to bite, analysis from the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

It comes ahead of inflation figures being published today (Wednesday 16 August), which could see rail fare rises for popular routes rise by hundreds of pounds next March. The Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation figure for July is normally used to increase rail fares. It means the average commuter could see their rail fare costs rise by £31 a month, if RPI inflation remains at 10.7%.

This comes on top of average monthly mortgage payments rising by £220, and typical monthly food bills going up by £57 a month. It means a typical family with one person commuting by train could see their bills go up by £300 a month once rising rail fares, mortgage costs and food shopping are taken into account.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey is calling on the government to freeze rail fares, to offer much-needed support to families. The Liberal Democrats are also calling for a targeted mortgage support scheme, offering grants to families facing the steepest increases in mortgage costs.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

“This Conservative government is hammering families with a triple whammy of spiralling mortgages, food bills and now huge rail fare hikes too.

“People are already having to make big sacrifices just to make ends meet, but Rishi Sunak is so out of touch he just doesn’t seem to care.

“After years of chaos under the Conservatives, people are paying more for less and seeing their hard-earned money disappear.

“The government needs to finally offer some relief for millions of families on the brink, by freezing rail fares and bringing in a mortgage rescue fund. 

ENDS

Notes to Editor

The average cost of an annual season ticket in 2023 is estimated at £3,466, up 5.9% compared to 2022 [Telegraph]. The Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation in June stood at 10.7%. If RPI remains at a similar level in July, this means the typical annual season ticket could go up by £371 a year, or £31 a month (£30.90) from March 2024.

According to the Bank of England, for the typical mortgagor rolling off a fixed deal over the second half of 2023, monthly interest payments are expected to increase by around £220 if their mortgage rate rises by the 325 basis points implied by current quoted mortgage rates [Bank of England, Financial Stability Report, July 2023, p26]

According to Kantar, at the current level of inflation, households would have spent £683 more on their annual grocery bill (or £57 a month) to buy the same items as they did a year previously [Kantar, July 2023].