UK debt mountain hits £2.6 trillion - or more than we all produce in a year

Official statistics released on Wednesday have shown that the amount of money Britain owes has reached a staggering £2.6 trillion, surpassing the country's annual production. This indicates a significant accumulation of debt that must be addressed.

The government borrowed an amount of £20 billion in May, which is more than twice the amount borrowed previously. The increase was due to the high cost of massive energy support schemes.

The entity in charge of UK statistics, the Office for National Statistics, has reported that borrowing for May has increased by £10.7 billion compared to the same period last year. Additionally, this is the second-highest May borrowing recorded since monthly records started being kept in 1993.

Experts in the field of economics had made a forecast that indicated the amount of money that individuals and organizations would borrow during the month of May would be around £19.5 billion.

According to the ONS information, the total amount of net debt as of the end of May has amounted to £2.6 trillion. It is believed to be equivalent to 100.1% of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

For the first time since March 1961, the ratio of debt to gross domestic product (GDP) has exceeded 100 percent, with the exception of the pandemic period, which was subsequently adjusted downward.

Economic experts caution that when a country’s debt reaches extremely high levels, it becomes increasingly difficult to manage public finances due to large interest payments on borrowed funds.

Having such a heavy debt burden drapes a somber shadow over the upcoming generations' economic outlook.

The Government is making tough choices to ensure financial stability after the pandemic and Vladimir Putin's incursion into Ukraine, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has confirmed.

According to his statement, we have rightfully invested billions of dollars in safeguarding families and enterprises from the severe ramifications of the epidemic and the energy emergency caused by Putin.

It wouldn't be right to burden future generations with a debt they have no way of settling.

This is why we have made tough yet important choices to even out our finances and cut inflation by 50% this year. Our goal is to stimulate economic growth and lower our debt.

However, Rachel Reeves, who is in charge of the opposition's economic policy, expressed her opinion that the current government cannot effectively address this issue because they themselves are the root cause of it.

For 13 years, the Conservative Party and their negative mini-budget have caused harm to our economy's stability and worsened the financial situation for families.

We require a stable economy, robust financial stability in families, and a strategy to enable us to seize the opportunities that lie ahead.