When I speak to people across Carshalton and Wallington, one thing comes up again and again: life still does not feel affordable.
You would not always know that from listening to Government announcements or some of the commentary coming out of Westminster. We keep hearing that inflation is falling and that the economy is turning a corner.
While things might be slowly improving on paper, for many people locally, that simply does not match what they are seeing in their own lives.
Lower inflation does not mean prices are coming down – it just means they are rising more slowly than before. After years of steep increases in food, energy and housing costs, affordability remains a real challenge for many households.
That gap between what people are being told and what they are experiencing is becoming harder to ignore. At times, it can feel like those making decisions at the top are living in a different world from the one local families are navigating day to day.
Housing costs are a huge part of the problem.
Read more
Nigel Farage to hold Croydon rally as part of Reform UK election campaign
London Victoria-bound trains to be cancelled or diverted this week
Many homeowners are coming to the end of fixed-rate mortgage deals agreed when interest rates were much lower. When those deals expire, they could suddenly face hundreds of pounds more in monthly payments.
Renters are not escaping the affordability squeeze either. Many tenants across Carshalton and Wallington have seen their rent rise sharply in recent years, with more of their income going simply on keeping a roof over their heads.
Young people are feeling this pressure most of all.
Across the country, youth unemployment is approaching one million – the highest level in a decade. Thousands of young people who want to work, learn new skills and build a future are struggling to get that first foot on the ladder.
I hear this directly from young men and women in Carshalton and Wallington who are doing everything right – studying, applying for jobs and trying to build independence – but finding it harder than ever to get started.
I understand these pressures personally. Things were not always easy growing up. There were times when money was tight, and I know what it feels like when every bill matters and every pound has to stretch that bit further.
That experience shapes how I see my job as your MP.
As a member of Parliament’s Treasury Committee, I spend much of my time questioning those in power – including Chancellor Rachel Reeves – and scrutinising whether the Government’s economic decisions are improving things for ordinary people. My job is to hold them to account and make sure the voices of people in Carshalton and Wallington are heard.
Economic statistics only tell part of the story. What really matters is whether life is becoming genuinely more affordable.
Right now, too many people still feel squeezed – and events in the Middle East may be about to make a bad situation worse
Until families see the difference in their weekly shop, their rent, their mortgage or their payslip, the affordability crisis is not over – and there is much more work to do.
- Bobby Dean is Liberal Democrat MP for Carshalton & Wallington
