Britain borrows £153 billion this year
Not a crisis year. Not a pandemic. Just a normal year.
The gap that never closes
Government has spent more than it earned in almost every year since 1978. A brief surplus around 1999–2001 was the exception, not the rule.
Each crisis ratchets debt higher
Borrowing accumulates into debt. After each crisis — ERM, the financial crash, COVID — debt jumps and never returns to pre-crisis levels.
Debt interest now exceeds Defence spending
Rising gilt yields and inflation have sharply increased the interest bill. Debt interest already exceeds the entire Defence budget — and the OBR expects it to keep climbing.
Three taxes fund two-thirds of everything
Income tax, VAT, and National Insurance raise 68% of all revenue. Everything else — from fuel duty to inheritance tax — is a rounding error.
Half of all spending goes to just two departments
Work & Pensions (pensions and benefits) and Health together consume nearly half of departmental spending. State Pension alone costs £142bn — more than Defence and Education combined.
The drivers are structural, not temporary
The biggest increases are in areas that only grow: pensions (guaranteed by the triple lock), disability benefits (ageing population), and NHS demand (COVID backlog, mental health). These aren't choices — they're commitments.
The outlook
The OBR forecasts the deficit narrowing to £67bn by 2030 — but only if spending is held down. Debt continues to climb toward 100% of GDP. The structural pressures — an ageing population, the NHS, the interest bill — aren't going away.