The UK has a central bank that produces its own fiat currency. We can never run out of money so we can never be broke.
“UK is ‘broke and broken,’ new government says…”
The UK government created tens of billions of pounds to bail out the banks in 2008 during the global financial crisis (£137bn). Not to mention it provided over £1 trillion in financial guarantees.
The UK government created hundreds of billions of pounds to bail out the UK economy in 2020 during the global pandemic (£400bn).
We have our own bank (The Bank of England), the UK government can create as much money as it needs when it needs it. One side of the accounting is a debit (government debt), one side is a credit (where it spends the money into the UK economy).
In 2022 the UK’s debt to GDP ratio was around 100%. The US ratio at that time was 110%, Italy’s 140%, Japan’s 215%. Clearly no market issues with a higher debt to GDP ratio. Increasing it to 110% would allow government spending of an extra £270bn. (The winter fuel allowance for the aged only cost £1.4bn).
Or the government could tax back public funds (government debt) it already spent into the economy (£2.7tn) and re-spend those funds where they are needed.
Public funds (our money) are for the benefit of us all. If they aren’t benefitting us all tax them out of the economy to re-spend them where they will.
We’re the sixth richest country on the planet in a technologically advanced age.
We’re not broke.
