Politicians must remember the difference between ‘debt’ and ‘deficit’ and shouldn’t conflate the two concepts, Andrew Dilnot, chair of the UK Statistics Authority, has told the prime minister’s chief of staff.
Dilnot acted after Labour MP Rachel Reeves complained that the PM said on TV: “We’re paying down Britain’s debts”. In fact, while the deficit is falling, debt is still rising.
“It is clearly important for all parties... to understand the relevant statistical definitions and to distinguish changes in the level of debt outstanding from changes in borrowing per period, and to reflect these in their communication of the statistical trends”, Dilnot wrote.