November drop to £11.2bn a welcome figure for chancellor after backlash from business leaders to budget

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The UK’s debt bill fell last month as government borrowing dropped to just over £11bn, giving Rachel Reeves an early Christmas present after a furious backlash from business leaders to her budget.

Official figures showed the interest payable on central government debt was £3bn, much lower than analysts expected and a decrease of £4.7bn from the same month in 2023, to give the lowest November figure since 2019.