UK Borrowing Overshoot Puts Healey in a Fiscal Corner Ahead of the Budget

The UK borrowed £18.3bn in August — a full £3.5bn above what the Office for Budget Responsibility predicted — and the total deficit for the financial year has now ballooned to £77.3bn, running £8.1bn ahead of forecast. The debt interest bill alone came to a record August high of £8.8bn, pushing cumulative interest payments since Labour took power past £206bn. With public sector debt nearing the £3 trillion threshold, Chancellor John Healey has...