Current location:travel >>
Blow for Rishi Sunak's hopes of pre
travel9876People have gathered around
IntroductionRishi Sunak's hopes of pre-election tax cuts suffered a major blow today as figures showed governmen ...
Rishi Sunak's hopes of pre-election tax cuts suffered a major blow today as figures showed government borrowing coming in above forecasts.
The public sector was £120.7billion in the red in the year to March, less than the previous 12 months but £6.6billion more than predicted by the Treasury watchdog.
Despite separate data suggesting the economy is recovering from recession, analysts questions whether Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will now have scope to ease the burden before the country goes to the polls.
Many Tories have been pinning their hopes on another round of tax cuts to open a dividing line with Labour and give Brits a feel-good factor before the election.
Borrowing was £11.9billion in March, which is £4.7billion less than a year ago, but higher than the £10billion expected by most economists.
Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt have been hoping to push through more tax cuts before calling the election
The public sector was £120.7billion in the red in the year to March, less than the previous 12 months but £6.6billion more than predicted by the Treasury watchdog
There was brighter news in the closely-watched PMI, which showed the private sector growing at its fastest rate for almost a year
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had forecast borrowing of £114.1billion in the year to the end of March.
Jessica Barnaby, ONS deputy director for public sector finances said: 'Spending was up about £58billion, with increased spending on public services and benefits outstripping large reductions in interest payable and energy support scheme costs.'
Andrew Goodwin, senior economic adviser to the EY Item Club, said: 'Unless the Chancellor is prepared to assume even greater spending restraint, it's unlikely there will be another tax-cutting fiscal event before the election.'
However, Rob Wood at Pantheon Macroeconomics said: 'We expect the Chancellor to cut taxes again before a likely October or November general election, despite borrowing overshooting his forecasts.'
He added: 'Hunt can plan for another year of unrealistically weak public spending to generate 'headroom' against his fiscal rules and thereby manufacture the funds to cut taxes.
'The next government will, therefore, face a tricky choice between raising taxes to fix creaking public services or holding the line on the Chancellor's recent tax cuts.'
There was brighter news in the closely-watched PMI, which showed the private sector growing at its fastest rate for almost a year.
The reading was 54 in April, up from 52.8 in March - with anything above 50 representing expansion.
Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence said: 'Early PMI survey data for April indicate that the UK economy's recovery from recession last year continued to gain momentum.
'Improved growth in the service sector offset a renewed downturn in manufacturing to propel overall business growth to the fastest for nearly a year, indicating that GDP (gross domestic product) is rising at a quarterly rate of 0.4 per cent after a 0.3 per cent gain in the first quarter.'
Overall, the ONS figures show the UK's overall national debt was £2.69trillion in March, an increase on the £2.54trillion seen a year ago.
As a share of the economy, debt was around 98.3% of the UK's annual gross domestic product (GDP) in March, around 2.6 percentage higher than a year earlier and remaining at levels last seen in the early 1960s, the ONS said.
Public sector debt remains at levels last seen in the 1960s, according to the ONS
A Treasury spokesman said: 'Debt increased in recent years because we rightly protected millions of jobs during Covid and paid half of people's energy bills after (Vladimir) Putin's invasion of Ukraine sent bills skyrocketing.'
He added the Government 'must stick to the plan to get debt falling'.
The figures show the impact of inflation, with benefit payments surging by £36.9 billion to £291.4 billion in the year, as payouts saw inflation-linked increased and due to cost of living support.
Central government wages also rose by £21billion, including across health and education, while goods and services also cost the Government more.
But there was some relief as inflation eased back from the highs seen in October 2022, which helped interest on inflation-linked debt fall 27 per cent to £78.3 billion over the year.
In March, borrowing debt interest increased by a fifth to £2.5 billion, due to changes in Retail Prices Index inflation.
Borrowing overall is still lower than the previous year, which was pushed up by energy support payments after Russia's war with Ukraine sent gas and electricity costs soaring.
Tags:
Reprint:Friends are welcome to share on the Internet, but please indicate the source of the article when reprinting it.“Cosmic Chronicle news portal”。http://bahekykovovodo.allesfuersjagen.com/go.php
Related articles
Judge strikes down North Carolina law on prosecuting ex
travelRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A federal judge has halted the enforcement of a North Carolina law that made it ...
【travel】
Read moreChinese museums receive 73 mln visits during Spring Festival holiday
travelBEIJING, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Museums across China received approximately 73.58 million visits during ...
【travel】
Read moreSlade Cecconi, Diamondbacks earn 5
travelSAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Right-hander Slade Cecconi held the San Francisco Giants to two runs in six inn ...
【travel】
Read more
Popular articles
- As airplane makers struggle to meet demand, Morocco wants to become a manufacturing hub
- Columbia cancels in
- Victoria Beckham and her lookalike sister Louise Adams pose arm
- Andrew Garfield looks loved
- Crew members injured in crash on set of Eddie Murphy movie 'The Pickup'
- Fencing mom Arianna Errigo and high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi named Italy's Olympic flagbearers
Latest articles
Erik Jones to miss Dover race because of broken lower vertebra
Andrew Garfield looks loved
Supreme Court will hear ghost guns case
Alcaraz and Nadal continue recovery from injuries at Madrid Open while Djokovic skips tournament
A memorial opens on the site of a Nazi concentration camp for Roma after a pig farm was removed
Children of Flint water crisis make change as young environmental and health activists
LINKS
- Free Daycare Services for Students Provided in Hefei
- China to Improve Sci
- China Made Solid Progress on Elderly Care over Past Decade: NHC
- Local Villagers in SW China's Guizhou Busy Picking Tea Leaves
- China Continues Crackdown on Irregularities of Off
- Featured Commodities from ASEAN Countries Attract Visitors at China
- Teachers' Day Meets Mid
- Featured Commodities from ASEAN Countries Attract Visitors at China
- Ancient noble tomb found in east China's Jiangsu
- 2022 China Int'l Travel Mart Kicks off in Kunming