Public sector borrowing hits record high
The UK government borrowed £20.3 billion in November to fund public sector services in the UK, the highest figure since records began in 1993. While the £20.3 billion question was less than some analysts had expected, it does perfectly illustrate the worsening financial situation in the UK and the fact that it will not be "fixed" overnight.
The office for National statistics also confirmed that public sector debt in the UK has now reached £844.5 billion, or 60.2% of gross domestic product (GDP), which when compared to the figure of November 2008 - £15.5 billion of borrowings, £706 billion of debt which was 49.6% of GDP - is of serious concern. The very fact that the figures are not as bad as analysts had expected is a reflection of how downbeat and depressed forecast for the UK economy have become over the last few weeks.
As we have mentioned recently, the UK government is under more and more pressure to release a detailed response to the growing debt problem and it rumours Gordon Brown is holding Alistair Darling back from revealing the "true extent" of the UK problem. However, there is no doubt that the government will be forced to issue a detailed response to the growing debt problem in the short to medium term.
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