Britain’s debt mountain hit an eye-popping £2.6 trillion in May - or more than we all produce in a year, official figures revealed on Wednesday.
Government borrowing more than doubled to £20 billion in May, pushed higher by the cost of mammoth energy support schemes.
The Office for National Statistics said borrowing in May was £10.7 billion higher than a year ago and the second-highest May borrowing since monthly records began in 1993.
Economists had predicted borrowing of £19.5 billion for May.
The ONS data also showed net debt reached £2.6 trillion as of the end of May, estimated at 100.1 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).
This is the first time the debt-to-GDP ration has risen above 100 per cent since March 1961, except for during the pandemic, but this was later revised lower.
Economists warn that once a nation’s debt reaches such eye-wateringly high levels it is increasingly hard to get the public finances under control given big borrowing interest payments.
It also casts a gloomy cloud over the economic prospects of future generations to have the country so weighed down by high debt.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the Government was taking “difficult decisions” to balance the books following the pandemic and Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We rightly spent billions to protect families and businesses from the worst impacts of the pandemic and Putin’s energy crisis,” he said.
“But it would be manifestly unfair to leave future generations with a tab they cannot repay.
“That’s why we have taken difficult but necessary decisions to balance the books in order to halve inflation this year, grow the economy and reduce debt.”
But shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “This Tory government can’t get a grip of this problem because they are the problem.
“13 years of the Tories and their disastrous mini-Budget are damaging our economic security and leaving families worse off.
“We need a more secure economy, more secure family finances and a plan to help us grab hold of the opportunities before us.”
