TUC report says UK households paid extra £13,961 on bills since 2021

The Trades Union Congress published analysis of official figures on 15 October 2026 estimating that UK households have paid an average of £13,961 in additional costs for mortgages, loans, energy and water bills since 2021, equivalent to an extra £2,792 a year¹. The union body attributed the increase to inflation triggered by the exit from the Covid pandemic and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East¹.

The breakdown, based on Office for National Statistics figures, is as follows¹:

The analysis said average rental costs have risen at a higher rate than mortgages, suggesting mortgage costs are being passed on to renters¹. It also said consumer spending remains behind pre-pandemic levels, after broadly flatlining growth in household disposable incomes since the 2008 financial crisis, and that the UK has recorded the weakest growth in consumer spending in the G7 since before the pandemic¹.

Paul Nowak, the TUC general secretary, said:

The TUC called on the chancellor to launch a social energy tariff, take action to help poorer households and young people with rising living costs, and raise capital gains tax and taxes on banks¹. Separately, the IPPR thinktank urged the chancellor to raise £16bn, mostly through a rise in capital gains tax softened by a new entrepreneur "super exemption", and proposed a "rent stabilisation mechanism" to cap private rent increases, a £2,000 cap on consumer energy bills, a freeze in fuel duty and an increase in housing allowance benefits for households on universal credit¹. The IPPR said headroom against the chancellor's fiscal rule was likely to have shrunk by between £7bn and £15bn since the spring¹.

The Confederation of British Industry, after retail industry bosses met the chancellor in Downing Street on Tuesday, said he should listen to calls for a cut in employer national insurance contributions to encourage firms to take on younger workers, along with cuts to business electricity costs, changes to business rates and measures to support private investment¹. It was reported on Tuesday that the chancellor had rejected calls from Labour MPs and thinktanks to equalise the rates at which capital gains and income from work are taxed¹. The Treasury has been approached for comment¹.

Why it matters for households

The figures describe costs already incurred rather than a change in what households pay from a given date. The £2,792 a year average is spread across mortgage repayments, loan repayments, electricity and gas, and water, and the amounts differ sharply by category: mortgage holders account for the largest share at £1,806 a year, while water adds £74 a year¹. Households without a mortgage are not affected by that element, and the TUC's figure is an average across all households rather than a sum any single household would necessarily recognise¹.

The report also points to pressure that may continue: it cites predictions that consumer energy bills could reach £2,000 a year from January for the typical household¹. The TUC's proposed measures, including a social energy tariff and higher taxes on capital gains and banks, are recommendations to the chancellor and have not been adopted¹. The IPPR's proposals, including the rent cap and energy bill cap, are likewise recommendations¹. The CBI's calls on employer national insurance, business electricity costs and business rates are also representations rather than announced policy¹.

What happens next

The chancellor, John Healey, has pledged to use his 28 October budget to give households "breathing space", while warning that the government has limited resources to soften the global economic shock hitting Britain¹. The Treasury has been preparing for a "tightly focused" budget to limit the potential for a market backlash provoked by large tax and spending measures¹. The International Monetary Fund this week urged Healey to "stay the course" to cut the budget deficit amid rising borrowing costs in global financial markets¹.