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The government borrowed the least amount of money in three years last month, official figures showed, in a surprise bout of good news for Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Not since July 2021, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, was state borrowing so low, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Increases in tax and national insurance receipts meant public sector net borrowing was £1.1bn in July, meaning there was a £1.1bn gap between government spending and income.

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That borrowing is less than half the figure (£2.6bn) expected by economists polled by the Reuters news agency, as self-assessed income tax was £600m higher than expected.

But borrowing was still £6bn higher in the first four months of the financial year, which started in April, than the same period in 2024.

Despite a £2.3bn drop in monthly borrowing when July 2025 is compared with July 2024, the state still spent more on the cost of that lending.

The amount of interest paid on government debt was £7.1bn, £200m more than a year earlier.

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The cost of government borrowing has increased in recent months as the interest rate investors demand on loans issued to the UK (bonds) rose.

At the start of the week, the government’s long-term borrowing cost, as measured by the interest rate on 30-year bonds (known as the gilt yield), closed at the highest level since 1998.

What does it mean for the chancellor?

The monthly borrowing data is in line with the predictions made by independent forecasters, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

It may not be as rosy a picture, however, as research firm Capital Economics point out the cumulative budget deficit, rather than a monthly figure, is £5.7bn above the OBR’s forecast.

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Are taxes going to rise?

This matters for the chancellor’s self-imposed fiscal rules, to bring down government debt and balance the budget by 2030, the firm said.

“The chancellor will probably need to raise taxes by £17bn to £27bn at the budget later this year,” Capital Economics’ UK economist Alex Kerr said.

Elevated self-assessment income tax receipts “may just reflect the timing of tax returns being recorded, and receipts in August may be weaker than expected”, he added.

Responding to the figures, Ms Reeves’s deputy, chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, said: “Far too much taxpayer money is spent on interest payments for the longstanding national debt.

“That’s why we’re driving down government borrowing over the course of the parliament – so working people don’t have to foot the bill and we can invest in better schools, hospitals, and services for working families.”

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Nvidia boss defends AI against claims of bubble by ‘Big Short’ investor

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Nvidia boss defends AI against claims of bubble by 'Big Short' investor

Nvidia boss Jensen Huang has told Sky News the AI sector is a “long, long way” from a Big Short-style collapse.

Speaking outside Downing Street following a roundtable with government and other industry figures, the head of the world’s first $5tn company defended his sector from criticism by investor Michael Burry.

Mr Burry and his firm, Scion Capital, gained notoriety for “shorting” – betting against – the US housing market ahead of the 2008 financial crash.

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He was portrayed by Christian Bale in the 2015 film The Big Short, which also starred Steve Carell, Brad Pitt and Ryan Gosling.

Earlier this week, filings revealed Mr Burry has now bet against Nvidia and on social media, he has suggested there is a bubble in the sector.

Some $500bn was wiped off technology stocks overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, Bloomberg reported.

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Speaking to Sky News, Mr Huang said: “I would say that we’re in the beginning of a very long build out of artificial intelligence.”

Christian Bale portrayed Michael Burry in the 2015 hit film. Pic: Reuters
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Christian Bale portrayed Michael Burry in the 2015 hit film. Pic: Reuters

Defending his company and investment, Mr Huang said AI is the first technology that requires “infrastructure to be built” and that Nvidia has seen “great returns” from AI, and that is why it is expanding.

Mr Huang said better training of AI has led to much “better” and “useful” answers, and that means “the AIs have become profitable”.

“When something is profitable, the suppliers want to make more of it, and that’s the reason the infrastructure build out is accelerating,” he added.

Pushed on whether he was worried about a situation like the Big Short, Mr Huang said: “We are long, long away from that.”

The UK government is betting big on AI in the hopes that it can save money by using it and generate growth by building the infrastructure to back it up.

Asked if she was worried about the market, Technology Secretary Liz Kendall told Sky News: “I have no doubts that AI is going to transfer all parts of our economy and our public services.”

Mr Burry and his firm, Scion Capital’s bets against Nvidia and other companies were revealed by regulatory filings earlier this week.

The investor also posted on social media for the first time in more than two years, warning of a bubble.

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Concerns have been raised about the market surrounding AI, and the growth many companies are experiencing.

Nvidia is the largest producer of the specialist computer chips that are used to train and use AI models.

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‘Hope won’: London mayor Sadiq Khan compares newly-elected New York mayor to his leadership

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'Hope won': London mayor Sadiq Khan compares newly-elected New York mayor to his leadership

New York has followed London by choosing hope over fear in electing Democrat Zohran Mamdani as its new mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan said.

Mr Mamdani, 34, defeated former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa to become the city’s first Muslim mayor and the first of South Asian heritage.

London mayor Sir Sadiq drew comparisons to his own 2016 victory as he congratulated Mr Mamdani, who will become New York’s youngest mayor in more than a century when he takes office on 1 January.

Sir Sadiq Khan. Pic: PA
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Sir Sadiq Khan. Pic: PA

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Sir Sadiq called it a “historic campaign”, adding on X: “New Yorkers faced a clear choice – between hope and fear – and just like we’ve seen in London – hope won.”

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson also congratulated Mr Mamdani, telling Sky News: “I wish him well.

“It’s a wonderful job to have secured.”

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Green Party leader Zack Polanski said Mr Mamdani’s success “will resonate throughout the world” as he called it a “story where no one is left behind”.

“It’s time to write that story across England and Wales too,” he added.

Zohran Mamdani with his wife, Rama Duwaji. Pic Reuters
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Zohran Mamdani with his wife, Rama Duwaji. Pic Reuters

Mr Mamdani’s victory was a setback for Donald Trump, who had thrown his weight behind Andrew Cuomo, a former Democrat running as an independent.

The mayor-elect described himself as “Trump’s worst nightmare” and said New York had shown “a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him”.

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The US president had threatened to cut federal funding to New York if Mr Mamdani won.

In his victory speech, Mr Mamdani said: “New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and as of tonight, led by an immigrant.

“If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him.”

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Badenoch calls for government to ‘get Britain drilling again’ as Starmer flies to COP30

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Badenoch calls for government to 'get Britain drilling again' as Starmer flies to COP30

Kemi Badenoch is calling for the government to “get Britain drilling again” – as Sir Keir Starmer heads to COP30.

The Tory leader has launched a joint campaign with the Scottish Conservatives to demand the moratorium on new oil and gas licences is lifted.

They are also calling on the chancellor to scrap the energy profits levy – an extra 38% tax on North Sea oil and gas profits – at the upcoming budget on 26 November.

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The Conservatives want the government to recognise that it believes gas will be a key part of the future energy mix to secure energy and lower bills to “deliver a stronger economy”.

They have launched the call to “get Britain drilling again” as the prime minister flies to Brazil for the COP30 summit after he reiterated the government’s dedication to clean energy goals and the UK’s role as a global climate leader on Tuesday.

He admitted COP30 would present a “challenge” due to slow global progress in cutting emissions, but said: “I’ve thought climate change has been our biggest challenge as a species for a very long number of years now.”

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Trump’s ambassador tells UK to drill for oil

Speaking on a visit to Aberdeen, Ms Badenoch said the UK, in particular northeast Scotland, is facing an oil and gas “emergency due to the anti-growth policies of the Labour government in Westminster and the SNP in Holyrood”.

She warned the offshore oil and gas sector “risks disappearing altogether”, which she said would mean job losses in Scotland and the rest of the UK, and leave the country more reliant on overseas energy imports.

Ms Badenoch said: “Scotland, and the whole United Kingdom, faces a growing oil and gas emergency thanks to Labour’s inability to put our national interest first.

“By the end of Labour’s first term in office, it’s not inconceivable that Scotland’s oil and gas sector will be at serious risk, with domestic production currently set to half by 2030.

“That would be a shocking indictment of Labour’s energy policy, and a dangerous act of economic self-sabotage.

“Enough is enough. Keir Starmer must find the backbone to ditch Ed Miliband’s Net Zero fanaticism, which is forcing up bills and driving away industry.

“Instead, the prime minister should do what our economy needs, scrap the energy profits levy and end the moratorium on new licences in the North Sea.

“If the Labour government fails to act, we could be witness to the end of our domestic energy security as we know it.”

North Sea oil exploration platforms lie in the Cromerty Firth in northern Scotland in 2003. Pic: AP
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North Sea oil exploration platforms lie in the Cromerty Firth in northern Scotland in 2003. Pic: AP

A Labour Party spokesperson accused Ms Badenoch of “doubling down on the same failed Tory energy policy that caused the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation”.

“The Conservatives’ anti-growth, anti-jobs, anti-investment position on clean energy would cost hundreds of thousands of jobs, leave Britain reliant on insecure expensive fossil fuels and lock families into higher bills for generations to come,” she added.

“It’s the same old Tories, with the same old policies. It didn’t work then and it won’t work now.”

There have been a series of oil and gas closures this year.

Grangemouth, Scotland’s only oil refinery, stopped processing crude oil after a century of operations in April, with 430 job losses.

The union Unite said political leaders had “utterly failed” the workers and would face “electoral wrath”, while the area’s Labour MP, Brian Leishman, said he was “disgusted” by the broken promises.

Harbour Energy, the UK’s largest oil and gas producer, cut 250 jobs in Aberdeen in May, blaming the government’s fiscal rules and regulations.

The Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery in Lincolnshire ended production in August, with 125 job losses, after the group went into administration and the government was unable to find a buyer.

In October, oil and gas contractor Petrofac, which employs about 2,000 people in Scotland, filed for administration, but its core operating subsidiaries and North Sea business have continued to trade as normal while it looks at restructuring or selling.

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