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The Parliamentary Secretary, HM Treasury (Lord Pitt-Watson) (Lab)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 16 September 2026

Debate

Government Debt

Contribution

My Lords, this Question about the Government’s interest bill is a really good one: £1 in every £10 of government money is now spent paying interest. There are three elements causing this. One is the overall level of borrowing, and consistent, disciplined fiscal rules that are kept to are, we believe, the right answer. There is also the growth in global interest rates, for example following quantitative easing. We are also living in an extremely uncertain world, particularly in the Persian Gulf. The third element is the premium that the UK now pays over the G7 average—a premium that has been apparent since September 2022. Again, the best remedy for that is sustained fiscal discipline, including respecting the independence of the Bank of England in particular and, of course, the Office for Budget Responsibility.

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