Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves visited Wave Community Bank today, to talk about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on local people and the difficulties first time buyers face currently as a result of the rise in interest rates.
Ms Reeves met with the WCB team including Ann Hickey (CEO) and Richard Priestman (President), and she was accompanied by Peter Kyle, Shadow Secretary for Northern Ireland and MP for Hove, where WCB are based. They had the opportunity to talk to first time buyers about the problems they face including high rental prices that make it difficult to save, lack of affordable houses locally and the difficulty saving the required deposit when house prices are so high in Brighton & Hove.
Speaking ahead of the visit, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said:
“The Tory mortgage penalty is devastating family finances, destroying dreams and holding back our economy. There is so much promise and potential in Britain, that we can unlock if we can have a government that will put working people first and get the economy growing. That is what Labour will always do. Right now, we’d be freezing council tax, funded by a proper windfall tax on oil and gas giants to help ease the cost-of-living crisis facing so many. And as the party of home ownership, we’d be putting in place a plan to help make thoshopes of home ownership realised.”
Ms Reeves also discussed with the WCB team the work they are doing in the local community and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on members, addressing the need for affordable loans and the benefits of payroll saving and borrowing when household budgets are under immense pressure.
Ann Hickey CEO of Wave Community Bank said:
“We were delighted to welcome Rachel Reeves Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer to our office in Hove today. We discussed how the cost-of-living crisis is affecting our members and people in our community, and the challenges for first time buyers trying to get on the housing ladder. She had already had a good understanding of how community banks and credit unions operate. We were glad to have the opportunity to talk to her about our work in our community. “
The visit was featured on ITV Meridian News – you can catch up with it here (from 10mins 28 secs)
