Tory MP: Debt bombshell as UK is 2.2trillion in red
UK households should brace themselves for a debt “bombshell”, Conservative MP Brooks Newmark is set to say today, ahead of tomorrow’s official update on government debt levels.
The ONS’ current estimate of £805bn of debt misses out key data, he argues in a report for the Centre for Policy Studies, claiming the true level of government debt stands at £2.2 trillion – or £85,610 per household
Official figures fail to take into account £1.4 trillion of liabilities and extra costs, Newmark says.
Newmark says the official figures do not take into account the full cost of projects financed through PFI (£139bn); unfunded public sector pension liabilities (£1.104bn); contingent liabilities such as Network Rail and interventions in the financial sector.