The UK government’s deficit-cutting drive has suffered a heavy blow ahead of its spending review on Wednesday after official figures showed the worst October for the public finances over the past six years.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) the deficit swelled by 16% from a year earlier to £8.2bn in October.
This comes as the Chancellor George Osborne wants to eliminate the deficit on the public finances by the end of the decade.
He is now expected to unveil plans on November 25 to cut government department spending by around £20bn over the next four years.