Britain’s economic problems are about to bite the Tory leadership contenders

Credit card borrowing is booming and people are using it to pay for subscriptions and essentials. Meanwhile, Deliveroo has cut its growth forecasts in half. James Moore asks if any of the (unfunded) tax-cutting Tories are paying attention

People are borrowing a lot more money on their credit cards (PA)

UK Finance has just released its latest data on Britain’s credit card spending, and it makes for sobering reading. Outstanding balances on credit card accounts grew by 9.5 per cent over the 12 months to April. The number of transactions increased by 23.7 per cent. The total value increased by 28 per cent.

Now, there’s inevitably some pandemic effect in there from 2021, which distorts the year-on-year comparisons, especially with those last two numbers. But you can still file them all under “cause for concern”.

Consumers are clearly using their plastic to borrow more than they were, and they aren’t paying their balances off as quickly. That borrowing is funding subscriptions and day-to-day essentials, the price of which is inflating like the outlandish claims put about by the Tory leadership contenders.