Disastrous Truss budget forced UK councils to take out massive 50-year loans at soaring rates

Debt Management Office figures show lasting impact of mini-budget that spooked financial markets, says Labour's Angela Rayner

Cash-strapped local authorities across the UK took out massive 50-year loans at soaring rates of interest in the aftermath of Liz Truss's catastrophic mini-budget, according to official figures that reveal more about the long-term cost to the public of her 49 days in office.

Figures from the government's Debt Management Office show that after the budget on 23 September, 2022, announced by Truss's chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, 24 50-year loans of between 590,000 and 40m were taken out by councils at interest rates of up to 4.77 %, over the rest of thatyear.