Yesterday the IMF cut the UK’s growth forecast by a substantial 0.5% before Reeves heads to D.C. today for a summit hosted by the institution. New borrowing figures from the Office for National Statistics show just what Brits are on the hook for…
Public sector borrowing excluding banks is £151.9 billion in the year to March – the OBR’s prediction of last month was £137.3 billion for the 2024/5 financial year. At the budget it only forecast £127.5 billion of borrowing…
March borrowing is £16.4 billion, £2.8 billion higher than last year and the third highest on record. The budget deficit is £12.6 billion higher than last year’s twelve month period and £13.9 billion higher than the OBR’s forecast. Net debt is at 95.8% which “remains at levels last seen in the early 1960s.” When growth was about 3%…
Former Treasury minister and adviser to Burnham in the Makerfield campaign Lord Jim O’Neill, who has turned down a role in his government, said Burnham’s first statement Commons was:
“The last thing investors wanted to hear… gilt yields have risen by a 0.25% in one day, which is a lot. We’ve not had that since Liz Truss days… If your country is under the focus of ‘can they come up with a sensible fiscal strategy’ on a day when the markets think ‘well no, you’re not showing any sign of it’ you’re going to have a tough day…if it stays like this your mortgage rate is going up.”