UK Debt Hits £2.7 Trillion, First Time Since 1961 When it was equal to GDP.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) says that the UK’s state debt has reached £2.7 trillion, which is equal to the country’s GDP for the first time since 1961. As of the end of August 2024, the UK’s public sector net debt was £2.768 trillion, which is equal to 100% of the country’s GDP.

Government borrowing hit £13.7 billion in August, which was £3.3 billion more than the same month last year and the third-highest August borrowing on record. This led to a rise in debt. The numbers are higher than what the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) thought they would be. They thought that borrowing would be £11.2 billion.

Now there is even more heat on Chancellor Rachel Reeves before Labour’s conference and the Budget on October 30. Some people say that the government is slowing down the economy by threatening to raise taxes and making bad financial predictions.

The overall amount borrowed so far this financial year is £64.1 billion, which is a little more than the same time last year. Even though the government is getting more tax money, it is borrowing more because it is spending more on benefits and public services.

The £22 billion debt that the government took over was used by Darren Jones, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, to stress how important it is to make tough economic choices. He said that these money problems are caused by high spending and the affects of inflation, but he was still determined to fix the economy of the country.

Now that debt equals GDP, the government has to make important economic choices to get the UK out of its financial problems.