UK borrowing soared to over £103,000,000,000 during April and May in lockdown, with the country’s debt exceeding GDP in May for the first time in 57 years.
The Office for National Statistics found Government borrowing in May is predicted to have hit £55.2billion – nearly nine times higher than in the same month a year ago.
That figure is slightly lower than the £62.1billion of borrowing in April, according to the ONS, although the organisation also revised down that figure by £13.6 billion to £48.5 billion today.
Combined, it means that borrowing for the current financial year to date – April to May 2020 – has already rocketed to £103.7billion, £87billion more than the same stretch last year and the highest in any April-May period since current records began in 1993.
Debt levels at the end of May were 100.9% of gross domestic product (GDP), the first time that debt as a percentage of GDP has exceeded 100% since the financial year ending March 1963, the ONS said.
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Debt now stands at £1.95trillion – up £173.2billion in May 2019.
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.’
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