Public sector borrowing hits record high for September

On the day when the UK government is set to announce up to £80 billion of cost cuts over the next four years it was revealed that public sector net borrowing rose to £15.6 billion in September against £14.8 billion in the same period a year ago. Analysts had expected around £14.2 billion of borrowings so the figure is significantly higher and again illustrates the challenges presented to the UK authorities.

There is no doubt that the UK government will look to make the current picture as downbeat and as dark as possible in order to try and push through austerity measures and retain the confidence of voters. However, yesterday's news of a possible 500,000 job cuts in the public sector has brought home to many people the degree of cuts proposed and the impact these will have on everyday life for many people in the UK.

To be fair to the UK government, David Cameron and his coalition counterparts inherited an economy which was struggling to push ahead, a public sector budget deficit out of control and the potential threat of a downgrade of UK sovereign credit ratings. All in all something had to give and unfortunately it seems that the public sector will bear the brunt of forthcoming cuts.