Britain’s national debt reached its highest level in 60 years

According to the report of the international group Tasnim news agency quoting Tagus Shaw newspaper, on the eve of parliamentary elections, the ratio of British debt, that is, the country’s debt to GDP, is higher than the last 60 years. Therefore, the new British government will face great challenges.

Thus, about two weeks before the British general election in which the ruling conservative party is threatened with elimination, Britain’s national debt has reached its highest level in more than 60 years. The ONS announced yesterday in London that the country’s debt reached 2.742 trillion pounds (3.25 trillion euros) in May.

, that is, the debt in relation to the gross domestic product (GDP), is 99.8 percent, which is the highest rate since 1961. About a year before, this debt was around 96.1%.

Increasing national debt increases the financial challenges facing the next British government. The general election in England will be held on July 4. Opposition Labor leader Keir Starmer is betting on change after 14 years of chaos, as he describes the Tories’ tenure in government as having brought down Brexit, Party Gate and Liz Truss as prime minister. Financial markets were hit hard.

Both sides promise not to raise income tax, value added tax or other important taxes. The national debt in the UK has increased dramatically during the corona pandemic. Slow economic growth and an increase in interest rates, which the Bank of England has raised to its highest level in the last 16 years in the fight against inflation, are also putting pressure on the government’s budget.

However, polls show that the Labor Party is about 20% ahead of the Conservative Party. . In this way, the conservatives, who have been in power since 2010, are facing a bitter defeat in the elections. Rishi Sunak has been in office since October 2022 and is currently the third Prime Minister since the previous election in 2019 after Boris Johnson and Truss.

Also, recently, debt has increased sharply in most western countries. Britain’s debt level is lower than that of the United States, France and Italy. In the European Union alone, seven member states are subject to criminal proceedings for incurring large debts.

However, Germany has very low figures. Terry shows: According to the forecast of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, last year, debts in this country constituted only 63.6% of the GDP.

Borrowing in the UK reached £33.5 billion in the first two months of the new financial year. This is £0.4bn more than the same period in 2023, but £1.5bn less than the government’s budget forecast in March. According to Capital Economics analysts, these conditions are due to lower public investment.

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