Britain's borrowing surges this year even before huge election spending promises

London

BRITAIN'S borrowing has surged this year even before the huge election spending promises of the major parties.

The UK Office of National Statistics shows that the state is spending far more than it earns. The worrying figures place a question mark on government and opposition promises.

Public sector net borrowing jumped to £11.2 billion (S$19.8 billion) in October this year, £2.3 billion more than the same month last year. This is the highest October borrowing since October 2014.

It raises borrowing in the current financial year-to-date (April 2019 to October 2019) to £46.3 billion, 10 per cent more than in the same period last year. The deficit raised the public sector net debt excluding public sector banks to £1…