UK Government Borrowing Rises to Record £22 Billion in November

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt leaves Downing Street following the first Cabinet meeting with Rishi Sunak as prime minister, in London on Oct. 26, 2022. Victoria Jones/PA

The UK government’s borrowing rose to £22 billion ($26.6 billion) in November, as the higher interest costs and cost-of-living payments to households put increasing pressure on public finances.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), this was £13.9 billion ($16.8 billion) more than the borrowing figure for the same month last year, and was £16.2 billion ($19.6 billion) more than in November 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic.