The cost of government borrowing | Panorama

Duration: 1'08''

Synopsis

In the five years after the 2008 financial crisis, government debt doubled from 40% of GDP to over 80%.

Further Information

More clips from Panorama

Growing NHS spending | Panorama

Growing NHS spending | Panorama

BBC One | 2025 | 51''

How rises in demand for services increases public health spending.

Growth of public sector spending | Panorama

Growth of public sector spending | Panorama

BBC One | 2025 | 2'10''

Why does public sector spending rise year on year?

Is Britain Broke? | Panorama

Is Britain Broke? | Panorama

BBC One | 2025 | 28'56''

Ros Atkins sets out to discover the truth about how our money is spent and why politicians keep running into trouble when they try to cut spending.

Rising cost of elderly in the UK | Panorama

Rising cost of elderly in the UK | Panorama

BBC One | 2025 | 2'07''

Explains the impact of an ageing population on public sector spending.

The Cancer Drugs Fund | Panorama

The Cancer Drugs Fund | Panorama

BBC One | 2025 | 1'53''

Understanding why the Cancer Drugs Fund set up.

The impact of external shocks on government borrowing | Panorama

The impact of external shocks on government borrowing | Panorama

BBC One | 2025 | 2'42''

How Covid, the financial crisis and the war in Ukraine has impacted UK debt and the interest paid on that debt.

The impact of increasing government borrowing | Panorama

The impact of increasing government borrowing | Panorama

BBC One | 2025 | 1'10''

Looking at the impact of rising government borrowing on government debt.

The UK benefits system | Panorama

The UK benefits system | Panorama

BBC One | 2025 | 3'44''

Who claims benefits and what is the impact of a rising benefit system?

The UK economy and taxation | Panorama

The UK economy and taxation | Panorama

BBC One | 2025 | 1'59''

The impact of tax increases on the UK economy.

More resources about Economics

Fruit and Veg | What Britain Buys and Sells in a Day

Fruit and Veg | What Britain Buys and Sells in a Day

BBC Two | 2019 | 59'03''

Ed Balls, Ade Adepitan and Cherry Healey delve into the hectic world of Britain's imports and exports. Ed is at London G...

Cadbury Exposed | Dispatches

Cadbury Exposed | Dispatches

Channel 4 | 2022 | 26'06''

Undercover in Ghana, Antony Barnett investigates Britain's best-loved chocolate brand and reveals for the first time child labour in its supply ...

Episode 2 | Made in Britain

Episode 2 | Made in Britain

BBC HD | 2011 | 58'53''

Evan Davis looks at how Britain's focus on the knowledge economy contributes greatly to the nation's bank balance.

Cars | What Britain Buys and Sells in a Day

Cars | What Britain Buys and Sells in a Day

BBC Two | 2019 | 58'58''

Ed Balls, Ade Adepitan and Cherry Healey explore how much we really know about the logistics that enable Britain to buy and sell ...

Surviving the Cost of Living Crisis | Panorama

Surviving the Cost of Living Crisis | Panorama

BBC One | 2022 | 29'07''

Panorama follows three families, as they try to cope with what is predicted to be the biggest fall in living standards since t...

The cost of HS2 | HS2: End Of The Line?

The cost of HS2 | HS2: End Of The Line?

BBC News | 2023 | 48''

Detailing the rising cost to build HS2 - a major new high-speed railway network connecting London to the West Midlands.

03: Enemies | Thatcher: A Very British Revolution

03: Enemies | Thatcher: A Very British Revolution

BBC Two | 2019 | 59'31''

Mrs Thatcher confronts her enemies, leading the country to war, taking the economic fight to her opponents in the trade uni...

Episode 1 | Britain's Hardest Workers: Inside the Low Wage Economy

Episode 1 | Britain's Hardest Workers: Inside the Low Wage Economy

BBC Two | 2016 | 58'37''

20 volunteers test their skills against some of the jobs in Britain's low-wage sector. In this episode, th...

Episode 1 | Inside the Bank of England

Episode 1 | Inside the Bank of England

BBC Two | 2019 | 59'00''

Filmed with unprecedented access, this episode goes inside the Bank to show how it prints our cash, ensures our money holds its value ...

Should We Still Be Working from Home? | Panorama

Should We Still Be Working from Home? | Panorama

BBC One | 2025 | 28'31''

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the way we work has been transformed, with many more of us working from home. But is that good ...

The importance of tourism | Colombia with Simon Reeve

The importance of tourism | Colombia with Simon Reeve

BBC Two | 2017 | 2'07''

Explains the importance of tourism for a developing economy.

Wealth inequality | Simon Reeve's South America

Wealth inequality | Simon Reeve's South America

BBC Two | 2022 | 4'40''

Highlights how the use of local projects can combat wealth inequality within some of the poorest communities in South America.

Episode 1 | The Super-Rich and Us

Episode 1 | The Super-Rich and Us

BBC Two | 2015 | 58'51''

Jacques Peretti investigates how the super-rich are transforming Britain. He looks at why the wealthy were drawn to Britain and meets the s...

After Brexit: The Battle for Europe | This World

After Brexit: The Battle for Europe | This World

BBC Two | 2017 | 59'05''

The European Union faces the biggest challenge in its 60-year history, with the rise of populist eurosceptic movements acros...

Black Wednesday

Black Wednesday

BBC One | 1997 | 49'31''

Five years ago Britain was in financial crisis. On a day when speculators made fortunes and the Bank of England lost billions propping up the pound, the prim...

China and the Pandemic | 54 Days

China and the Pandemic | 54 Days

BBC Two | 2021 | 1'14'02''

54 Days tells the story of the events that led to the lockdown and the gulf between what Chinese officials and scientists knew and what they...

S01E02: Home Sweet Home | Darren McGarvey's Class Wars

S01E02: Home Sweet Home | Darren McGarvey's Class Wars

BBC Scotland | 2021 | 58'00''

Darren examines how social class and where we live impacts our lives in ways that few realise, from our addictions to ...

The Corrupt Billionaire | Panorama

The Corrupt Billionaire | Panorama

BBC One | 2020 | 29'21''

Leaked documents reveal how an impoverished country was corruptly exploited by its former ruling family. With Richard Bilton.

02: Chocolate | Made in Great Britain

02: Chocolate | Made in Great Britain

BBC Two | 2018 | 58'52''

This episode traces our love affair with chocolate back to York. Chocolate was transformed here from a luxury drink for the rich into t...

Beyond Utopia: Escape from North Korea

Beyond Utopia: Escape from North Korea

BBC Four | 2024 | 1'44'23''

A documentary that takes a suspenseful, immersive look at the lengths to which people will go to gain freedom, following various indiv...