Teaching activity
Data Starter: UK budget deficit
Elizabeth Veal
4th March 2025
How much has the UK government borrowed in recent years?
Using these House of Commons Library ‘Public Sector Net Borrowing’ charts, answer the following questions:
- Identify two significant features of the trend in the UK government borrowing as a % of GDP between 1980/1 and 2024/5.
- Compare the peak of UK government borrowing (rolling 12 month total) after the global financial crisis to the peak during the pandemic.
Download our suggested answers for this resource here
Elizabeth Veal
Liz has taught Economics for over 25 years, including several years as Head of Economics at leading schools.
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