Government Borrowing Numbers Just Got a lot Better — So Why Is No-one Talking About It?

The Office for National Statistics has quietly revised the government’s borrowing figures. And the picture is, on the face of it, better than expected. Borrowing in March 2026 came in at £12.6 billion — £1.4 billion lower than a year earlier, and the lowest March figure since 2022. More importantly, borrowing for the full financial … Read more

The Next Crisis Isn’t Inflation. It’s Debt—and the US Is the Problem

The IMF recently downgraded its growth forecast for the UK following the escalation of conflict between the US/Israel and Iran. All major economies saw downgrades, but the UK’s was the largest. Even so, the IMF still expects the UK to be among the better-performing advanced economies. That didn’t make the headlines. Instead, we got the … Read more

UK Government Debt and the Budget: What Really Just Happened?

Rachel Reeves debt interest

What happened in the budget? Last week Rachel Reeves delivered the Government’s latest budget. It arrived amid a fog of leaks — some accidental, others clearly not — and a week of breathless speculation about market panic. In reality, there was a modest increase in the interest rate the Government pays on its borrowing. But … Read more

Public Spending, Accounting Rules, and the Quiet Revolution in Government

This is the most boring blog you’re ever going to read. Truly dull. It contains some very big numbers and zero sex appeal. And yet, it marks a fundamental shift in how government works in the UK—a quiet but far-reaching change that’s been unfolding over the past year and underpins the most recent Government Spending … Read more