Round numbers should be no more interesting or enlightening than any other. But the revelation that Britain’s debt has hit 100 per cent of GDP is unlikely to lift the sense of gloom that has already settled above Whitehall.
The last time public sector net stood at 100 per cent of annual economic output, the year was 1961 and Harold Macmillian was in Downing Street. Critically, borrowing levels were coming down, following the blood and treasure spilled defeating Nazism during the Second World War. Therefore, it is perhaps more accurate to say the last time UK debt was above 100 per cent of GDP and still rising was March 1947.
These figures heap even greater pressure on Rachel Reeves. The Chancellor had already rolled the pitch for “difficult decisions” in the upcoming budget, with spending cuts and tax rises expected. It follows a warning from the Office for Budget Responsibility, which forecast that, should current trends persist, debt could nearly triple to 270 per cent of GDP over the next half century, due to an ageing population, climate change and security challenges.
It would be tempting to retreat into Treasury bean counting. But the Chancellor must not forget that debt-to-GDP ratios have a denominator as well as a numerator. Get the economy growing again – through targeted investment and supply-side reform amongst other measures – and the numbers may not look quite so scary.
Game, set and match, Wimbledon?
The battle between the All England Club and Wandsworth Council may not after all be going to five sets, with the Greater London Authority set to recommend approval of its plan to construct 39 new courts on Wimbledon Park.
This being the English planning system, there is more bureaucracy to follow. The proposal would then arrive at Housing Secretary Angela Rayner’s desk for her approval, regardless of the decision made by City Hall.
Following the encouraging news about the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street, the Government is clearly minded to give the go-ahead to vital and economically beneficial schemes across the city. The All England Club’s plans for 39 new courts and an 8,000-seater stadium represent the latest bid by the world’s greatest tennis tournament to retain that mantle – and certainly falls into that category.
