The cost of servicing the government's debt mountain will surpass £500bn over the next five years, due to high inflation and steep interest rates. Interest rate payments on that debt will rise to their highest level as a proportion of economic output since the late 1940s. This year alone, the interest rate bill for an individual household was already £4,000. That has also led to concerns that public spending, including for education and health services, will need to be squeezed in order to balance the books.
