UK government debt rises above 100% of GDP for first time since 1961

A rise in tax receipts and the chancellors’s drive to cut spending across Whitehall was unable to prevent a steep rise in the monthly deficit. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

The UK’s total government debt pile in May reached more than 100% of annual national income for the first time since 1961 as state borrowing more than doubled, according to official figures.

In a blow to Rishi Sunak’s plans to cut taxes before the general election, which is expected next year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said net debt reached £2.6tn as of the end of May, estimated at 100.1% of gross domestic product (GDP).