New UK borrowing figures show what could have been before Iran war

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Several pieces of data indicate that the UK economy was on a slow path to economic stability before the Iran war. The latest was released yesterday by the Office for Budget Responsibility. It showed that the UK borrowed £700m less than expected in the last financial year and that the total amount of £132bn was the lowest for three years. This matters because the UK spends £80bn annually on debt interest repayments, nearly as much as education. Before the US and Israel attacked Iran, the OBR predicted that the UK would be in a budget surplus by 2029. High oil prices threaten to derail this steady progress by putting the UK on course for a period of stagflation, characterised by low growth coupled with rising inflation and unemployment.