Labour urged to lead global debt relief effort as cost of repayments soars

Campaigners call for action in 2025, as crippling repayments prevent spending to cut poverty and tackle climate crisis

Campaigners are urging Labour to lead the charge for global debt relief in 2025, as new analysis shows lower-income countries spent 15% of their revenue on repayments this year - the highest level for three decades.

Calculations by the charity Debt Justice, based on data from the World Bank, show repayments from poorer countries bottomed out at 4.4% of income in 2011 but have since trebled.