Rising debt and spending demands squeeze Britain’s finances

The UK, like many other European countries, borrowed heavily to support its citizens during the Covid-19 pandemic and to cushion the blow from soaring energy prices following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine

The UK’s public debt burden has surged faster than that of any other big advanced economy since the eve of the Covid-19 pandemic, helping drive up interest payments and limiting the country’s capacity to spend more on defence and care for an ageing population.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves will on Wednesday try to grip the public finances after higher interest rates and weaker growth blew her fiscal plans off course just five months after Labour’s first Budget since taking office.