Higher-than-Forecast UK Borrowing Shows Economic Challenge Ahead – Labour

Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty

In the UK, Labour says it has received the worst economic inheritance since the second world war after official figures showed the government borrowed more than expected in June.

Underscoring the challenges facing the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, the Office for National Statistics reported that UK borrowing – the difference between public-sector spending and income – was £14.5 billion last month.

Although borrowing in the first three months of 2024-25 was £1.1 billion lower than the same period a year earlier, at $49.8 billion, the Office for Budget Responsibility said it was £3 billion above its last forecast, published at the March budget.

Labour has warned in the first weeks since its election landslide that, after 14 years of Conservative rule, it has inherited a dire financial position, with the national debt at its highest levels since the 1960s.