Jeremy Hunt talks of ‘tough’ decisions as borrowing soars – but he can afford to settle strikes

Debt hit £22bn in November but fell as a proportion of GDP when compared to this time last year – and the figure could yet be revised downwards, writes James Moore

Public sector workers are striking over pay (Reuters)

Oh dear. On the day that ambulance workers and paramedics went on strike, the latest public sector borrowing figures revealed a record £22bn hole in the public finances.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt duly put on his responsible headteacher duds and warned that he would have to make some “tough decisions to put our public finances back on a sustainable footing”.

We’ve already heard him talking about “difficult decisions” and even “very difficult decisions”. There’s probably been a “hard decisions” in one of his missives, too. What’s next? Challenging? Regrettable?