The UK's national debt could hit 300% of GDP by the 2070s because of the string of major challenges still facing national governments after a "rapid succession of shocks", according to a report for the Treasury. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) laid out how climate change, defence and the fact people are living longer all posed significant, and current, risks at a time when the public finances are already reeling from COVID, cost of living support and higher interest rates. The national debt hit a 60-year high of £2.56trn in May - equivalent to 100% of national GDP for a year. The OBR's ... (full story)