Brown Breaks 3% Borrowing Commitment

12.00.00am GMT Wed 10th Dec 2003

Gordon Brown today pretended that his pre-budget statement keeps to his earlier commitments on public borrowing. However, a year ago, in front to the Treasury Select Committee, the Chancellor clearly indicated to David Laws MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, that he was committed to keeping borrowing to under 3% of GDP.

This years £37bn of borrowing is now the equivalent of 3.4% of GDP, a blow for the Government's credibility and something the Chancellor is desperate to bury.

Mr Laws said: "Today's borrowing figures show that the Chancellor has a real problem with the public sector deficit."

"His strategy now is to cross his fingers and hope he can postpone tax increases until after the next election."