Editor's Blog4 mins ago
Government Borrowing Falls
Good news eh. Government borrowing fell last month by 11.2 billion, the lowest in 3 years.
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No best answer has yet been selected by nicebloke1. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.Not quite Nicebloke. It's the lowest November for three years, which while good, isn't quite on par with your soundbite.
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Yes, looks like a move in the right direction but, as I argued to TTT over inflation upturn, we shpuldn't read too much into chanhes which can just be ablip or due to timing differences or technical factors. The economic indicators are all over the place, but the longer term interest rates are rising threatening mortgages, and the money markets are pessimistic- the FTSW is down 1% again today and has been falling like this all week. That's not good news for those with DC pension funds and for public sector pension funds.
""Borrowing this month was over £3bn less than this time last year and the lowest November borrowing for three years. Central government tax receipts grew compared with last year, while increased spending on public services and on benefits were offset by lower debt interest payable." It's because interest rates are lower than they were last November, a pattern that started some time ago not only in the UK but across the world.
It's nothing to do with what this government has done and nothing directly to do with what the last government did as these things happen across all major economies, particularly Europe and USA.
Is there anything in particular that you think they have done that has caused the figure to fall? Reduced spending? (No) Increased taxes? (not yet), Generated growth ? (no- we're heading towards recession). Sparked a wave of optimism? (No- see the plumetting FTSE and job losses and concern from businesses about employer NI hikes.)