SIR MEL STRIDE: Britain can’t afford chaos as trust in gilts is eroded

Our Government bonds have traditionally been seen as one of the safest investments in the world. Pension funds rely on them. Retirees depend on them. It’s a relationship built on trust.

Under Labour, that trust is being eroded. Britain’s borrowing costs are climbing sharply, and the consequences are being felt beyond Downing Street. 

Rising gilt yields affect UK finances, mortgages, and the pensions and savings of millions of ordinary people.

Markets are increasingly nervous about the direction of this Labour Government. Investors can see a PM weakened by internal divisions, pulled to the Left by his backbenchers, as speculation grows about who might replace him – and if they will borrow and spend yet more.

That uncertainty comes at a price. The UK is becoming an outlier globally. 

While events abroad influence markets, Britain’s borrowing costs have risen further and faster than any comparable country. Investors are demanding a higher premium to lend to this Government.

Relationship built on trust: Our Government bonds have traditionally been seen as one of the safest investments in the world, says Sir Mel Stride

Rachel Reeves promised stability. Instead, Britain now faces borrowing forecasts a quarter of a trillion pounds higher across this Parliament than the plans Labour inherited.

The Chancellor loosened her own fiscal rules to allow yet more borrowing – maxing out the nation’s credit card at just the wrong time. 

She also pushed up the cost of living through her tax rises on businesses, leaving us with the highest inflation in the G7 last year. 

So interest rates have stayed higher for longer and with a knock-on impact on Government borrowing costs.

Reeves likes to blame the Iran war for bond market moves, but our borrowing costs have risen twice as much as those of our peers. 

Her choices left us in no state to withstand a fresh crisis. Now the uncertainty around the Labour leadership is piling on yet more pressure. 

Last week every rumour or resignation was reflected in a jump in gilt yields.

It is ordinary savers paying the price. As people near retirement, many pension funds move their investments into lower-risk assets such as gilts. If investors shun these their value plummets, leaving pension savers worse off.

Meanwhile, taxpayers face a huge and growing debt interest bill. Britain is already spending well over £100 billion a year servicing debt – almost double what we spend on defence. That is cash that cannot go to schools, hospitals, policing or tax cuts.

Britain cannot afford more Labour chaos. Stability matters. Credibility matters. If markets lose confidence, taxpayers and savers are those who suffer most.