U.K. Budget Deficit Hits $222 Billion Under Lockdowns
- Borrowing now higher than in year following financial crisis
- Figures reflect vast cost of supporting economy through virus
Rishi Sunak departs Downing Street on his way to present his 'Winter Economy Plan' at Parliament in London, on Sept. 24.
Photographer: Simon Dawson/BloombergU.K. government borrowing soared to 173.7 billion pounds ($222 billion) in the first five months of the fiscal year as the costs of the coronavirus pandemic continued to mount.
The budget deficit in August alone was 35.9 billion pounds, the Office for National Statistics said Friday. Britain now has borrowed more since a national lockdown was imposed in March than during the whole of the year following the 2008-09 financial crisis.
The figures come a day after Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak unveiled a 5 billion-pound plan to rescue millions of jobs and businesses from a winter crisis as a resurgence of Covid-19 threatens to derail the economy.
The pandemic has wrought havoc with the public finances. Debt is now above 2 trillion pounds and the deficit –- the amount the government needs to borrow to fund its spending -– is set to be approaching 400 billion pounds in the current fiscal year.