U.K. Deficit Cuts to Last for More Than a Decade, CEBR Says

Britain’s austerity program may last for more than a decade amid weak economic growth and higher-than-planned public spending, the Center for Economics and Business Research said.

Efforts to balance the budget may have to be extended beyond the 2020 general election, the London-based research group said in a report published today. Net government debt will reach 85 percent of economic output by 2017, costing Britain its top credit rating, and the deficit by then will be more than twice as large as government forecasters predict, it said.