UK interest payments worse than Greece – “drastic austerity measures” needed
The Bank for International Settlements in Switzerland joins the growing throng of critics…
Average Brits are likely to be distracted by all the election hype that has started in earnest since Gordon Brown’s announcement on Tuesday.
But more astute observers will be casting an increasingly critical eye over the state of the UK’s finances. Swiss banks have been lining up to slate the UK and PIMCO have once again confirmed their distaste. Now its the turn of BIS.
Telegraph: Britain will need “drastic” austerity measures to prevent public debt exploding out of control, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), has declared.
Interest payments on the UK’s public debt will double from 5pc of GDP to 10pc within a decade under the bank’s “baseline scenario” before spiralling upwards to 27pc by 2040 – by far the highest among the OECD club of developed countries. Greece fares better, while Britain’s interest burden is far worse than Italy’s.
Which means, come May the next chancellor will have to forget all of the niceties of election promises and start spilling some blood.
