Following record amounts of borrowing in May, the UK’s debt is now larger than the economy.
The £55.2 billion was nine times higher than this time last year, and the highest sum borrowed since records began in 1993. Government debt is now at £1.95 trillion, which sees it exceed the size of the economy for the first time in over half a century.
Rishi Sunak, chancellor of the exchequer, has stated that the figures confirm the impact of the virus on the country’s finances.
"The best way to restore our public finances to a more sustainable footing is to safely reopen our economy so people can return to work”, he said.
"We've set out our plan to do this in a gradual and safe fashion, including reopening high streets across the country this week, as we kickstart our economic recovery," he continued.
While this is the first time the UK’s debt has exceeded its economy since 1963, it is not as high as the post war peak in 1946 to 1947, which sat at 258 per cent.
According to the ONS, borrowing between 2020 and 2021 will reach some £298 billion, which would be the largest deficit since the Second World War.
Alex Tuckett, the senior economist at PwC said that: "In the near term, there are signs the economy is recovering as the country re-opens, and this should boost tax receipts.
"However, these figures remind us that Chancellor Rishi Sunak faces a difficult backdrop to any summer fiscal event."
