Introduction: Rising debt costs add to UK borrowing in May
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The UK government borrowed more than expected to balance the books last month, as rising inflation pushed up the cost of servicing the national debt.
May’s public finances, just released, show that the public sector spent more than it received in taxes and other income. This required it to borrow £14bn, £3.7bn more than the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast — and ahead of City forecasts of a £12bn monthly deficit.
That’s £4bn less than a year ago, due to the drop of pandemic spending such as the furlough scheme, and Test and Trace. But it’s £8.5bn more than in May 2019, before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
As this chart shows, it’s the third-highest May borrowing on record (after 2020 and 2021).
UK government borrowing…
