Chris Leslie MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, responding to today’s public sector finance figures, said:

“These figures confirm that David Cameron and George Osborne are set to break their promise to balance the books by next year. This is the cost of the three damaging years of flatlining and falling living standards we have seen since the election.

“Borrowing is now forecast to be nearly £200 billion more than planned under this Government simply to pay for the costs of their economic failure.

"These figures also show the Government’s Swiss tax deal has raised less than a quarter of the revenues promised - just £800m so far, compared to the £3.45bn pledged by George Osborne.

“This failure to balance the books means the next Labour government will have to make difficult decisions on spending. But we will make different choices to secure a strong and sustained recovery that delivers rising living standards for the many, not just a few at the top. That’s the way to get the deficit down and do so in a fairer and more balanced way.”