'Real' National Debt £8.6 Trillion

New analysis shows the UK's debt level is much higher than official government figures.

The TaxPayers' Alliance claims public liabilities are either ignored or understated, and we really owe £8.6 trillion.

Debt's grown by £1 trillion under the Conservatives, despite bank bailout debts falling by the same amount.

• At the end of 2014-15, the real national debt stood at £8.6 trillion, over £320,000 for every single household in Britain.
• Since 2009-10, the debt has grown by £1 trillion, up from £7.6 trillion.
• £8.6 trillion in 2014-15, equivalent to around five times our GDP.
• Since 2009-10, liabilities arising from financial sector interventions have shrunk by £1 trillion. This means that debt ignoring financial interventions has grown by £2 trillion.
• The official national debt – the one quoted by the Chancellor in his budget – hugely understates taxpayer liabilities. The real national debt is almost six times larger than the official national debt.
• These figures may be underestimates. In addition to the debts we have examined, the public sector has a wide range of contingent liabilities.

Jonathan Isaby, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Despite the clarion calls of vocal protesters, the Chancellor must push ahead aggressively with his deficit reduction plan so that we can finally begin to pay back this extraordinary debt.

"There is no such thing as borrowed money, just deferred taxation. It would be nothing short of immoral for today's politicians to simply hand over this eye-watering credit card bill to the next generation, and they must push on with spending reductions so that Britain might live within its means once again.

"This Government was elected on a mandate to balance Britain's books. As this remarkable research shows, it is imperative that they don't waver from the task." 

Tam Kirby, People's Assembly Against Austerity organiser for Fife, says it's proof that the spending cuts programme is wrong: