22-07-2025
Government borrowing soars to second highest level on record
Government borrowing rose significantly more than expected last month as debt interest payments soared.
Official figures show the cost of interest payments on government debt is rising faster than the increases in income tax and national insurance contributions.
It means government borrowing reached the second-highest level last month since records began in 1993, according to the data from the Office for National Statistics.
June's borrowing figures were second only to the highs seen in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when many workers were furloughed.
State borrowing was more than £6bn higher than the same month last year.
It's bad news for Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who has vowed to bring down government debt and balance the budget by 2030.
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