Osborne’s economic failure leaves borrowing for 2014/15 £50bn higher than planned

22 May 2015

Commenting on the publication today (Friday) by the Office for National Statistics of the latest public sector borrowing figures, which show that the updated deficit for 2014/15 of £87.7bn was £50bn larger than planned in 2010 because of the failure of the Chancellor’s economic strategy, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“Instead of borrowing for investment, the Chancellor borrowed £50bn more than planned last year to bail out his failed economic plan.

“The failure to get wages growing has left the public finances in a mess, with income tax revenues and national insurance receipts falling £33bn short of expectations for the last year alone.

“The extreme cuts the Chancellor is planning for his July Budget will put our weak recovery at further risk, and leave our schools, hospitals and other services without the vital revenues they need. We need a better plan based on investment in skills, infrastructure and innovation to create good jobs with decent wages.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- The Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast for George Osborne’s first Budget in June 2010 was for the deficit to have been reduced to £37 billion in 2014-15.

- Analysis undertaken for the TUC by IPPR found that the shortfall in income tax receipts and national insurance, against OBR wage expectations in 2010, is £33bn. The full report The living standards tax gap just got bigger can be found at https://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/The%20living%20standards%20tax%20gap%20just%20got%20bigger%20FINAL.pdf

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