Public investment in new technologies and the energy transition is 'badly needed' to drive growth in the UK and prevent the national debt rising to risky levels, the International Monetary Fund has warned. Speaking as Rachel Reeves travelled to Washington to attend her first IMF annual meeting as chancellor, the body identified the UK as an advanced economy at risk of allowing borrowing to rise well in excess of pre-COVID levels.
' He warned that the UK's challenge was not unique in a world where global debt has reached $100trn and rising. 'In most countries, fiscal plans that governments have put in place are insufficient to deliver stable or declining public debt ratios with a high degree of confidence. Additional efforts are necessary. Delaying adjustment is costly and risky. Kicking the can down the road won't do. The time to act is now.