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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Larry Elliott Economics editor

Can UK avoid national debt almost tripling over next 50 years?

Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves standing near St Paul's Cathedral
The OBR findings will be politically helpful for Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer in the short term. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/Stefan Rousseau / PA

A near tripling of the national debt; public spending accounting for well over half the economy’s annual output; government borrowing at levels never seen before: that’s how the Office for Budget Responsibility sees Britain in 50 years’ time when it looks into its crystal ball.

No question, it is grim stuff. On unchanged policies, the government’s independent spending watchdog sees national debt as a share of national income (gross domestic product) rising from just under 100% to 274% by the mid-2070s.

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