Tagged with Stella Creasy

The postmodern payday lender

Recently it was revealed by McKinsey, the consultancy, that the UK debt to GDP ratio stood at 507% in the middle of 2011. Robert Peston reminds us that this is up from 487% of GDP in the second quarter of 2008, and, incredibly, from around 300% in 2003 – before the credit boom. Only Japan is more indebted with its debt to GDP ratio at 512%.

Further still, it is the financial sector, mostly in the city, which accounts for 219% of the debt. Household debt experienced a modest decrease, though is still very high. Continue reading →

The spectre of bad debt

Unsurprisingly, much discussion has been had during Labour conference on the budget deficit and how the country can promote growth and create jobs while simultaneously trying to level national debt in a realistic period of time.

Of comparable importance to the level of national debt are levels of personal debt, which have seen a sharp rise in recent times. According to statistics by Credit Action personal debt in the UK (2010) was £1.5 trillion – a figure serviceable in better times, but increasingly a struggle since the recession. In the decade to 2008, average household debt in the UK increased substantially– from 93 to 161 per cent of disposable income – largely accounted for by mortgages – and is set to rise to an average of £81,000 per household by 2015. Continue reading →