Economics
U.K. Budget Deficit Is Increasing Amid Easing of Austerity
- Borrowing in fiscal year to date up 28% from year earlier
- Figures contain sweeping revisions to student-loan accounting
Photographer: Jack Taylor/Getty Images
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U.K. government borrowing is rising more strongly than expected as a decade of austerity begins to thaw.
The budget deficit in the first five months of the fiscal year was 28% higher than in the same period of 2018, despite a modest improvement in August, Office for National Statistics figures published Tuesday show.