• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
  • Guest Content
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Business and Economics

The UK’s debt pile of £1.95 trillion is at levels not seen since 1963

Government borrowing hits £55.2bn in May to cope with Covid-19 economic fallout

Joe Mellor by Joe Mellor
2020-06-19 09:41
in Business and Economics
Credit;PA

Credit;PA

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

Government borrowing surged to a new record high in May, hitting £55.2 billion and beating the newly revised £48.5 billion for April, following heavy spending in the face of coronavirus, according to new figures.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) added that public sector borrowing – excluding banks owned by the state – was nearly nine times higher than the levels in May 2019.

It means the UK’s debt mountain has also now grown to more than the entire country’s output – gross domestic product – for the first time since 1963, officials added, to £1.95 trillion or 100.9% of GDP.

ONS chart
Data showing the speed of borrowing during the coronavirus crisis (ONS/PA)

April was previously thought to be the all-time highest borrowing month since records began in 1993, coming in at £62.1 billion, but officials on Friday revised this down by £13.6 billion due to larger-than-expected tax and national insurance contributions and lower costs associated with the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

The furlough scheme is expected to cost the Treasury £60 billion by the time it closes in October, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

Borrowing in the current financial year-to-date, which is April and May, is estimated to have been £103.7 billion – up £87 billion on the same period a year ago and the highest two-month period on record.

OBR

The OBR has previously predicted last month that borrowing for the entire year is expected to hit £298.4 billion.

All the extra borrowing means debt at the end of May was £1.95 trillion, up £173.2 billion, or 20.5 percentage points, compared with the same month a year ago.

The amount of cash needed by the Government in May was also a record high at £62.7 billion, with £126.2 billion required in just April and May combined, the ONS added.

RelatedPosts

Britishvolt closure a ‘monument to global Britain’s empty hype’

‘From rhetoric to recession’: Dutch press say Britain is now facing economic realities of Brexit

Brexit to blame for collapse of electric car battery company – William Hague

UK suffering from ‘catastrophic’ impact of Brexit – Asda chairman

Interest payments on the debts were £3.3 billion in May, up £0.2 billion from May 2019 as the amounts are linked to inflation.

The increase in borrowing came because central Government receipts fell 28.4% compared to May a year ago, at £40.7 billion, including £28.9 billion in taxes.

VAT

Value Added Tax (VAT), Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Income Tax and Corporation Tax receipts fell by 46%, 29.4% and 14% respectively, the ONS said, although officials were keen to stress the numbers could change when actual cash data is received.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “Today’s figures confirm that coronavirus is having a severe impact on our public finances.

“The best way to restore our public finances to a more sustainable footing is to safely reopen our economy so people can return to work.

“We’ve set out our plan to do this in a gradual and safe fashion, including reopening high streets across the country this week, as we kickstart our economic recovery.”

Related – PMQs – Rashford scored and soared putting Johnson to the sword

Please login to join discussion

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Donald Trump’s US-Mexico wall will spell disaster for local wildlife

‘We will not accept:’ BMA chairman slams neglect of NHS in heartfelt speech

Assange offered pardon by Trump ‘associates’ over Democrats’ emails source

Prince Andrew’s trust found in breach of Charity Commission rules

The truth is that dementia can strike at any time…and its effects can be shattering

Brits’ benefits plummet to lowest level value in 50 years TODAY

Johnson blimp takes to the skies in Manchester

Pret A Manger to give all staff £1k bonus following planned sale

Rio Ferdinand calls on government to punish and educate online abusers

Watch – Police using Britain’s newest speed camera dubbed ‘The Long Ranger’

JOBS

FIND MORE JOBS

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Commercial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.