As out clueless administration powers ahead, running up 1.3 trillion pounds of debt, we'll all end up paying even higher taxes when the cost of government borrowing goes up when our credit rating is cut back. It will take decades to repay if the rate goes up.

Government borrowing figure 1997 £6 billion.
Government borrowing figure 2009 £96 billion.
Government borrowing figure 2010 £163.5 billion.
Government borrowing figure 2011 (estd.)£1.3-1.4 trillion.

Expect much higher taxes from whoever gets into power next week! We currently each owe an additional £15k for this mess.

Nice one Gordon!
Nice one Alistair!

If you vote Labour, you'll be voting for the ruin of the UK, GUARANTEED!

I believe the risk of our credit rating risk being increased is small because, although we are borrowing record amounts, we have a very good record for making repayments and our economy is already performing better than those of Greece, Spain and Portugal. And because we are not in the Euro we can set our own interest rates and have more control over the debt.

Still scary amounts of money

Your post demonstrates such a sophisticated and nuanced understanding of the issues that I shall immediately accept any recommendations you make. For whom should I vote? 🙂

yes gordon and alistair alone are responsible for the world economic downturn that started in the USA and the only saving grace is the economic heavyweight of Osbourne and his lovely mate calll me Dave. Right now Greece and Spain are burning their effigacies as they also know it was their fault.

Thanks for the polemic really informative of your political view.

If you vote Labour, you'll be voting for the ruin of the UK

to be honest any party is going to have a tough time of it. Basically, this is a good election to lose which I think Gordon knows given his efforts yesterday.

I'm confused – I thought Thatcher was to blame 😕

….my vote is in the post now so too late.

Where did that 2011 estimate come from?

good article here

this article

Records of this type come round almost like the calendar because economies grow, and there's almost always some inflation. We might as well report that the date, 2008, is a record number of recorded years. More than in any other year since records began 2008 years ago. Beating by one the record held only last year, of 2007. And that if the trend continues we will see another record number of years recorded in the year as early as next year.

But there aren't going to be any cuts. Or tax rises. Dave told me. And I believe everything he says. He's just got a really trusting face. and he seems so sincere

He's going to achieve it all by 'efficiency savings'. Making people buy cheaper biscuits for Whitehall meetings. Relocating the department of education to Skegness. That type of thing. What could go wrong. Its all been costed

Spongebob… I think you have your figures confused, you are mixing up the deficit figures and the national debt.

As in, this year we are £160ishbn in deficit… so the government spent £160bn more than it raised in taxes. This is the figure you have for 2010.

Your figure for 2011 is not a deficit, it is the national debt… which is the sum of the surplus/deficits of previous years.

Your post demonstrates such a sophisticated and nuanced understanding of the issues that I shall immediately accept any recommendations you make. For whom should I vote?

😆 Nice one!

BTW, did anyone see the interest charges for the various Countries? FWIR, Germany and UK pay 0.8% and 1.2% respectively, as we have a comparatively decent credit rating – I think the Greeks are currently looking at about 15.2% on their debt 😯

That's nearly as much as the UK mortage interest rates were under the Tories!

I'm not listening to the advice from anyone who thinks square pants is a good look.

you are mixing up the deficit figures and the national debt

In spongebob's defence it's an easy mistake to make, as Our Glorious Leader demonstrated yesterday:

We’ve got a deficit reduction plan, cut the debt by half over the next four years…

fortunately our debts dont mature for quite a while (ten years?) whilst a lot of teh fuct countries, greece/ portugal are due now

so hopefully given a decade of modest inflation (to decrease the worth of the debt)

some efficiency savings
some spending cuts
some tax rises
by the time they are due we will be sorted

of course thats based on my very poor understanding of economics

and is certainly not the kind of wild hysteria that sells papers
(or get the politicians youve got in your pocket into power)

by the time they are due we will be sorted

The most important thing is that by the time they're due we're seen by the people we want to borrow from as being back in control of the economy so that the debt can be refinanced at a similar or lower rate, hence the emphasis on deficit reduction rather than debt reduction. Trying to use inflation to solve it usually ends in tears.

Inflation is inevitable.