The national debt has been the subject of many controversies surrounding the UK economy since the 2008 global financial crisis. A festering Brexit debate has added more confusion into the discussion, with analysts seeking to measure the UK's imminent withdrawal from the European Union. In March 2010, when debt stood at 69.1 per cent of GDP, Britain first outpaced that figure. Zsolt Darvas, a senior fellow at Brussels think tank Bruegel, said: "The existing UK gross public debt level is in the lower range of developed countries ' debts." "To boost the public debt-to-GDP ratio, a gigantic budget deficit or an economic contraction would be expected," he said.

Source: News 24 November 29, 2019 11:37 UTC