{"id":49826,"date":"2020-05-14T11:52:12","date_gmt":"2020-05-14T10:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/?p=49826"},"modified":"2020-05-14T11:52:12","modified_gmt":"2020-05-14T10:52:12","slug":"the-cost-of-uk-government-borrowing-1946-to-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/2020\/05\/14\/the-cost-of-uk-government-borrowing-1946-to-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"The cost of UK government borrowing 1946 to 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have already shown<\/a> that there is nothing exceptional, odd or worrying about UK public debt now, and will not be even if it increases significantly.<\/p>\n

But it's not the debt people say that they worry about: they say that we should worry about the cost.<\/p>\n

Well, that's not an issue either:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The data is from the House of Commons Library\u00a0<\/a>GDP data is from the Office for Budget Responsibility.<\/p>\n

I added the persistent downward dotted trend line just in case anyone missed the point.<\/p>\n

In cash terms, we have the highest government debt we have ever had.<\/p>\n

But the cost is exceptionally low, and even if we increase what is described as borrowing as a consequence of coronavirus the impact will still be very small given current, exceptionally low interest rates, which look like they will persist for a very long time.<\/p>\n

Please do always recall, that every penny the government spends on interest becomes someone's income - and most of it in the UK.<\/p>\n

And there is good reason for that: UK national debt is just a savings mechanism. There is nothing more menacing or threatening about it to our wellbeing than the amount saved in banks and building societies.<\/p>\n

My advice to those worried about this can be summarised in the words of Frankie Goes to Hollywood: relax, don't do it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have already shown that there is nothing exceptional, odd or worrying about UK public debt now, and will not be even if it increases
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