Why 'staggering' government borrowing is a headache for Rachel Reeves

Public sector borrowing in August has jumped to its highest level in five years, raising fears of huge tax hikes in the autumn to balance the books. Borrowing – the difference between total public sector spending and income – was £18bn in August 2025, £3.5bn more than last year and the highest since 2020, when the economy had ground to a halt in the wake of coronavirus lockdowns. Borrowing in the financial year to August 2025 was £83.8bn, £16.2bn more than in the same five-month period of 2024 and the second-highest April to August borrowing since monthly records began in 1993. Read more about the story here 👇 https://www.cityam.com/public-sector-borrowing-in-august-jumps-to-highest-in-five-years/ Get more of City AM 👇 🌐 http://www.cityam.com X(formerly Twitter): http://twitter.com/CityAM Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cityam Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/city_am LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/cityam Produced by: Simon Hunt, Joe Lee, Matt Kenyon #uk #london #news #economy #economics #business #businessnews #businessgrowth #finance #financialnews #personalfinance #tax #taxpayers #taxpayermoney #pension #money #inflation #property #politics #politicalnews #politicnews #labourparty #labour #rachelreeves #reeves #autumnbudget #budget2025 #uknews #ukpolitics #ukeconomy #ukbusiness #ukfinance