Top news headlines: Government borrowing highest since WW2.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="▶️" title="Nach rechts zeigendes Dreieck" aria-label="Emoji: Nach rechts zeigendes Dreieck">Not 1 headline how debt servicing costs historical low
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="▶️" title="Nach rechts zeigendes Dreieck" aria-label="Emoji: Nach rechts zeigendes Dreieck">Only 1 mention of debt servicing costs - surprise @Telegraph
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="▶️" title="Nach rechts zeigendes Dreieck" aria-label="Emoji: Nach rechts zeigendes Dreieck">No mention of BoE asset purchases
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="▶️" title="Nach rechts zeigendes Dreieck" aria-label="Emoji: Nach rechts zeigendes Dreieck">No mention asset purchases exceed borrowing

Thread
1/

Unbelievably frustrating that in the UK I have never seen a headline on debt servicing costs being at all- time historical lows. Always about debt and deficit levels...

Somehow its not even in the "main points" of @ONS public sector finances???
2/

Why is it that 7 out of 8 major UK news outlets reporting on government finances 1 year into the pandemic - there is not even mention of this. (W/D https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👏" title="Applaus-Zeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Applaus-Zeichen"> @Tim_Wallace)

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⬆️" title="Pfeil nach oben" aria-label="Emoji: Pfeil nach oben">Borrowing increased by £303bn in FYE buthttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⬇️" title="Pfeil nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Pfeil nach unten">the cost of servicing of debt fell from £48bn to £38bn.
3/

Yes public sector borrowing reached levels not seen WW2 - important to recognise this, especially given scale of crisis.!

(IMO borrowing should have been much higher after GFC- and we wouldn& #39;t have such fear mongering in today& #39;s headlines...Media & self-fulfilling prophecies)
4/

But then there is no mention of the fact the implications of @bankofengland asset purchases for our debt levels or debt servicing costs.

Did anyone even bother to look at whether @bankofengland asset purchases exceeded government borrowing?
5/

Which brings me to one of favourite tweets of 2021...

"The binding constraint on UK fiscal policy is not interest rates, solvency or inflation. It is the media..." h/t @CJFDillow

Difficult to imagine having a genuinely constructive debate on this until we do...
6/

Next week& #39;s thread will be on future debt servicing costs:

How do we manage them - especially if inflation and interest rates go up?

/End