Tucked away fairly quietly in the Daily Telegraph this afternoon: the Government borrowed £13.3bn last month, £1bn more than analysts expected and a blow to Chancellor George Osborne. For once, a market observer makes a very telling point (my emphasis):
‘Samuel Tombs, senior UK economist at Capital Economics, said: “May’s public borrowing figures contained tentative signs that the coalition is struggling to bring down the deficit in line with the fiscal plans this year….the real concern lies not in the strength of spending….Instead, tax receipts have continued to disappoint. Growth in receipts is therefore falling short of the recovery in nominal GDP.“ Continue reading