Income tax receipts in particular have been weaker than expected.
Income tax receipts in particular have been weaker than expected
The chancellor George Osborne borrowed £13.3 billion in May, higher than a year earlier when the government borrowed £12.6 billion, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Income tax receipts in particular have been weaker than expected.
The latest figures come just two months into the fiscal year, but imply a poor start to Osborne’s yearly plan. At the time of the Budget in March, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicted full-year borrowing would fall from £107.8bn last year to £95.5bn this year.
Commenting on the figures, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Chris Lesley said the chancellor was set to “break his promise to balance the books by next year”:
“Not only is George Osborne set to break his promise to balance the books by next year, but so far this year he is borrowing more than the same period last year.
“Borrowing is now expected to be almost £190bn more than planned under this government. This is the cost of three damaging years of flatlining and falling living standards we have seen since the election.
“Labour will balance the books and get the national debt falling as soon as possible in the next parliament, but we will do so in a fairer way. And we will act to secure a strong and balanced recovery that delivers rising living standards for the many, not just a few at the top.”
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14 Responses to “New figures: George Osborne borrowing more than expected”
Leon Wolfeson
Labour have committed very strongly to basically the same.
Leon Wolfeson
What? It’s been shown over and over that spending drives leaving recessions, and that austerity *causes* depressions. Even a look at the last decade shows you dozens of examples…Italy managed to smash itself into a recession with Austerity when it had a *primary surplus*, for instance!
Labour basically *replaced* an existing party, taking decades. Britain doesn’t *have* decades at this rate, and there is no such movement today. Your talk is utterly defeatist on voting reform, too.
I’m seeing pure Tory-line stuff from you, ignoring basic economic evidence in favour of “there is no high multiple spending” (which is *exactly* what “you can’t simply ‘create’ demand” means, among other things!)
The private sector is absolutely the right place to drive productivity and demand, but that means getting capitalism off it’s back and freeing up the *market* – i.e. instituting a living wage, which removes massive government subsidies for low wages…
Castilian
” I don’t trust labout to do any better.”
Sounds about right.
Castilian
“They acted in a selfish manner to protect their wealth”
Hey, wouldn’t we all? Even the ‘millionaire Millibands’ would like to keep their fat wads.