Britain's national debt tops £3 trillion for the first time, SIX YEARS after hitting £2tn, before Healey's 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.
Britain's national debt has crossed the £3 trillion mark for the first time, arriving at that threshold six years after it passed £2 trillion, on the eve of Chancellor John Healey's first Budget. The debt interest bill for September came to £10.9bn — the highest ever recorded for that month. September borrowing reached £24.5bn, overshooting official forecasts by £1.9bn, with the Iran war pushing costs higher. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the debt is 'higher now than at any point since the 1960s'. Healey is widely expected to target banks when he presents his Budget next Wednesday.
The debt now works out at more than £100,000 for every British household.
Inflation jumped to 3.5% in September, making a November rate hike all but certain.
Tax thresholds frozen until 2031 will drag families deeper into the tax system.
