John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, responding to the ONS monthly public sector finance figures that show public sector net borrowing and debt have gone up, said:

“George Osborne promised in 2010 that this would be the year the books would be balanced and austerity would come to an end, but instead the year is ending with borrowing and debt both going up.

“These figures confirm the Chancellor has no real long term economic plan and is relying upon a combination of cut price sales of public assets and old style large scale borrowing.

“With the national debt at over £1.5 trillion the only plan George Osborne seems to offer is a privatisation of the public sector, and a fragile recovery based on high household debt and consumer credit.”