UK public borrowing jumps: economist reaction The public sector borrowing figures were much worse than expected in October. Excluding special factors, total borrowing so far this financial year was more than £7bn higher than in the same period of 2011. Unless there are distinct improvements over the next few months, borrowing for the entire financial year could exceed the OBR's budget forecast by around £15bn. This unwelcome news will only put more pressure on the Chancellor as he prepares for his Autumn Statement in early December. To maintain credibility, the government must persevere with a realistic plan to reduce the deficit over the medium term. But there is also a risk that if weak growth continues, borrowing could overshoot even further, which could in turn threaten the UK's credit rating. The government should look to make cuts in areas such as welfare reform, pensions and the size of the civil service to ensure that the structural deficit is gradually reduced. We will also be looking to the Chancellor to announce measures in his Autumn Statement that will boost growth and enhance the productive capacity of the UK. Daniel Solomon, CEBR The UK economy has spent most of the past year in a recession and is broadly unchanged from a year ago. The unemployment rate has fallen but this was went hand-in-hand with falling real incomes and shifts to part-time and temporary work, meaning that consumers have seen their spending power squeezed. Weak economic growth has acted as a drag on tax receipts and today's data indicate that they have increased only modestly compared to 12 months ago.