http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2...bt-lloyds-hbos
• 'Terrible' tax returns for January
• Government likely to miss borrowing target
• Public net debt hits record 47.8% of GDP - set to rise to 100%
The government's rescue of some of Britain's biggest banks will push up the national debt by as much as £1.5 trillion, the Office for National Statistics announced this morning.
Alongside a grim assessment of the state of the public finances – which suggests Alistair Darling's borrowing forecasts are much too optimistic – the ONS said that Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland should be treated as public companies, as they were now partly under the control of the state.
The ONS said it would take time to assess exactly how much damage its decision would do to public sector net debt, but estimated that it would push it up by £1tn-1.5tn. The upper estimate is twice the current national debt, and equivalent to about 100% of GDP.
Couple this with printing money, and it's economy as we've known it.
Well done New Labour, you have managed to turn a 1st world country 3rd world. Takes some doing.
• 'Terrible' tax returns for January
• Government likely to miss borrowing target
• Public net debt hits record 47.8% of GDP - set to rise to 100%
The government's rescue of some of Britain's biggest banks will push up the national debt by as much as £1.5 trillion, the Office for National Statistics announced this morning.
Alongside a grim assessment of the state of the public finances – which suggests Alistair Darling's borrowing forecasts are much too optimistic – the ONS said that Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland should be treated as public companies, as they were now partly under the control of the state.
The ONS said it would take time to assess exactly how much damage its decision would do to public sector net debt, but estimated that it would push it up by £1tn-1.5tn. The upper estimate is twice the current national debt, and equivalent to about 100% of GDP.
Couple this with printing money, and it's economy as we've known it.
Well done New Labour, you have managed to turn a 1st world country 3rd world. Takes some doing.
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