The UK has borrowed too much money, has a massive debt - £105 billion goes on paying our debt interest

[cakeorwine]

A good visual guide from the Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/ng-interactive/2025/mar/24/visual-analysis-how-the-markets-boxed-in-rachel-reeves

But basically, the UK has had to rely on borrowing money as it spends more than it brings in.

It has borrowed money at low interest rates - but these rates have increased.

£105 billion on servicing debt interest. When you are borrowing a lot of money, even a small change in the interest level will massively increase the actual amount of money we need to pay on interest

Some context from the OBR on the budget

https://obr.uk/forecasts-in-depth/brief-guides-and-explainers/public-finances/

Income: £1149 billlion
Spending: £1276 billion
Of which £104 billion is on interest payments
Deficit: £127 billion

We need either more income, less spending and reduced interest payments.

Why? Just because next door’s has been done?

It’s grimly fascinating to see how few people have mentioned the real elephant in the room - mass immigration. They’d rather shaft/ blame pensioners and the disabled than even mention the population explosion, which is the ACTUAL reason that housing is so limited and expensive. The real reason their kids are finding it impossible to move out.

In addition illegal immigration is costing us billions per year. The hotels these immigrants are being put up in cost around 14 million a day. That’s not a ‘right wing talking point’. It’s a fact.

Yet people on mumsnet will do anything to avoid talking about this. It’s astonishing that it’s more socially acceptable to target the disabled and elderly who have spent their whole lives here.

If it’s original to the house it’s well past lifespan and that will be flagged by the surveyor and probably a replacement made a condition of mortgage by the buyers bank or building society.

You can also see from naked eye that its bowing and uneven meaning the wooden batons under the tiles are rotten, if not some of the beams. That will also be flagged on the surveyors report.

The house next door won’t have had a new roof for the fun of it - theirs will have failed and it’s only a matter of time for the entire rows roofs to be replaced. It’s how it goes with old houses. Roofs don’t last forever. It’s probably already leaking, hence the obvious wood rot.

Google maps street view of that road shows loads of houses with new roofs so it’s clearly a common problem for those types and age of house on that road!

Our roof is over 200 years old. No leaks. 🤷‍♀️

Look at Google street view - why is your house/roof relevant - you don’t live on that road in that type/age of house!

It’s relevant because you’ve just typed a four paragraph rant about rooves not lasting forever and a 30/40 year old roof being past its lifespan, Many people live under rooves that are hundreds of years old.

Some people have jobs that tie them to an area or family they need to be around for. I could not move up north as I need to be near my elderly parents. We can’t all just pick up and move.

Different materials, different construction methods. Are you really saying dozens of new roofs on that street were all done for shit and giggles? In your world there should be no new roofs as you clearly think all will last 200 years. Bad news for roofing contractors.

And there are towns where you won’t find jobs in certain trades and professions. People aren’t going to move, give up their trade or profession and work in retail or hospitality or an Amazon warehouse.

OP said her D's could get £100k and that house was only £90k money left for roof replacement but it would probably not have to be done immediately. It might be fine for another year. Anyway they might accept an offer slightly lower because of roof.

Some of us tried to point out that months and months of lockdowns (way beyond what was needed) would have very bad economic consequences. We were told to shut up and stop murdering grannies.

Yup. All those making bread all day happily being paid furlough to do nothing. It also caused a lot of people to start spouting nonsense about how "the future" would be universal income so people wouldn't need to work. Not a thought as to how it was all going to be paid for. Lots of people knew it would cripple the economy for years to come, but yes, were told to shut up and stop murdering grannies. Total muppets! This is what happens when you have widespread financial illiteracy among the population.

But clearly NOT the ones being talked about in this thread relating to that property for sale!

People who know economics etc, was Tory austerity ever needed? Why can't Keynesian spending and investment save us?

Wasn't it Ed Milliband who also admitted he'd have to impose austerity if he won that GE? Now of course, RR is about to impose it due to her incompetence last year which collapsed growth which was the bedrock of her finances! So it's really not just a Tory policy. If there's no money, there's no money. Successive governments don't seem to understand the difference between spending and investment. Even worse, Gordon Brown tried to fool the international financial markets by trying to claim that wages, say to NHS nurses, wasn't an expense but an "investment" in the nation's health - he was put back in his box very swiftly by the international financiers and told not to be so bloody stupid!

It's just said I used to watch Paul Krugman videos criticizing austerity saying that stimulus spending was the way to go. Was he wrong?

No, he was spot on.

Been thinking then why do austerity if you can spend, invest in the economy and help people? Why did all the parties say some form of cuts were needed?

People who know economics etc, was Tory austerity ever needed?

It didn't work

Some of us tried to point out that months and months of lockdowns (way beyond what was needed) would have very bad economic consequences. We were told to shut up and stop murdering grannies.

Many countries locked down. We had economic problems before covid.

What do you think of Labour’s cuts to welfare and other departments?

It’s grimly fascinating to see how few people have mentioned the real elephant in the room - mass immigration. They’d rather shaft/ blame pensioners and the disabled than even mention the population explosion, which is the ACTUAL reason that housing is so limited and expensive. The real reason their kids are finding it impossible to move out.

An ageing population does matter & one reason governments haven't reduced immigration

@EasternStandard I think means testing wfa is ok although perhaps the cut off could be higher. I think we do need to look at reforms to pip, AA etc but more overall austerity won't increase growth.

What do you think has worked or will work??

We need more investment

People who know economics etc, was Tory austerity ever needed?

Uncharted with Hannah Fry 10. Devil in the Detail

At time there was a paper that said at 90% debt countries economies collapse - it seems the research that supported this seems to have been a spread sheet error. Though the conclusion of program was the polticans arguing for asterity did before and after this paper and it was more ideology driven and now some of the previous proponents outside UK think it damaged the UK.