Hi, please let me know what you think. Many thanks! Bob M.

Rachel Reeves' economic stewardship stands at a critical crossroads as the UK plunges deeper into a fiscal nightmare. June 2025's borrowing figures tell a devastating story: £20.7 billion borrowed in a single month—the second highest June figure since records began in 1993—and a shocking £6.6 billion increase from the previous year.

This isn't an isolated incident. The government consistently overshoots borrowing projections, with the financial year ending March 2025 exceeding OBR forecasts by a staggering £14.6 billion. Despite these alarming trends, the Chancellor clings to her fiscal rules while ignoring the economic reality. Her promise that growth will solve everything rings hollow as the UK economy contracted for two consecutive months this spring.

The debt service burden has become a financial black hole, consuming £111 billion annually—over 8% of government spending. Most troubling is that 77% of current borrowing merely services existing debt, creating a vicious cycle that Reeves appears unwilling to address honestly. Her autumn budget, which raised employer national insurance by £25 billion, was meant to stabilize finances but instead strangles businesses and consumer confidence.

Political U-turns on winter fuel payments and disability benefits have blown a £6 billion hole in her budget, while her refusal to consider wealth taxes raises questions about whose interests she truly serves. The OBR's projection of a potential £30 billion shortfall against her fiscal rules should sound alarm bells, yet the Chancellor remains dogmatically committed to a failing strategy.

As the UK's debt-to-GDP ratio climbs to 96.3%, levels not seen since the 1960s, working families face the prospect of "austerity on steroids" unless Reeves acknowledges these challenges and develops a more realistic approach. The question remains: will she recognize the looming economic catastrophe before it's too late?