Londoners and people living in south-east England are 55 per cent more likely to struggle to pay their mortgages than those living elsewhere in the UK, new data shows, highlighting the uneven effect of the cost of living crisis.

The Financial Conduct Authority said on Friday that 5.9 per cent of the 1.8mn mortgage holders in London and the South East were at risk of being “financially stretched” by mid-2024. According to the regulator, people who are financially stretched have a mortgage costing them more than 30 per cent of their gross income.

The findings highlight the vulnerability of Londoners’ living standards to high housing costs. In the latest data, median incomes in the capital are no higher than the rest of the country when measured after housing costs.