Commenting on today's borrowing figures, Jonathan Isaby, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:
"These dismal figures underline the dire need for the Chancellor to announce considerable savings at the Spending Review next week. A little over halfway through the year, the government has already borrowed more than £54 billion and meeting the targets the Chancellor set himself for the year looks nigh-on impossible.
"Councils, police forces and the NHS are all protesting that they can’t make any more savings, but there simply isn’t any alternative with tax receipts already at the maximum level history suggests the economy can cope with. Spending across much of the public sector remains at very similar levels to the 2000s when the seeds of Britain’s fiscal woes were sewn so a dose of reality is sorely needed.
"It’s time for the Chancellor to rethink ring-fences and make responsible decisions on state pensions, international aid and much more. His credibility and the future prosperity of the country depend on it."