There is increased concern about how much money countries are borrowing, but the IMF said the UK is doing better than all other major economies at this.
The IMF said the UK “basically stands out, along with India” when it comes to addressing the problem and by 2031 it is projected to have the lowest annual borrowing of the G7 group of countries, which includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US.
Sir Howard Davies, former deputy governor of the Bank of England, said this was largely because the UK has a government with a majority which has committed to tackling the situation, which it is expected to achieve either through tax rises, cuts to public services, or a mix of both.
By contrast, he says the US has said little about reducing its deficit, while France and Germany don’t have majority governments.
“So, we [the UK] are not great students, but we look somewhat better than some of the others we are sharing the class with,” he said.
Meanwhile, the IMF’s growth forecasts for the UK mean it is expected to have the second-fastest growing economy in the G7 this year along with Germany.
Sir Howard believes this should also be seen in context.
“We’re still growing slowly. It’s almost like saying we’re winning a slow bicycle race here because other people are going backwards a bit more rapidly than we are.”
