Britain's national debt tops £3 trillion for the first time, a week before Chancellor John Healey's maiden Budget
Britain's debt interest bill hit £10.9bn in September alone — the highest for that month on record — as John Healey's fiscal headroom looks set to halve to around £12bn.John Healey, whose first Budget falls on 28 October, faces borrowing of £97.8bn in the first half of the year — £6bn above OBR forecasts — and is set to raise taxes on banks.
Taxpayers handed lenders £10.9bn in debt interest in September alone, the highest September figure on record. Borrowing hit £24.5bn for the month, £1.9bn more than the OBR forecast. Kemi Badenoch told Andy Burnham at PMQs that the debt equals '£100,000 for every household'. Inflation has jumped to 3.5%, and economists say a Bank of England rate hike is all but certain.
The debt took a decade to reach £2tn but just six years to hit £3tn.
Chancellor John Healey is expected to hit banks with higher taxes next Wednesday.
Thresholds frozen until 2031 mean inflation will drag families deeper into tax.
