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º£½ÇÊÓÆµ debt would rocket to 50-year high after no-deal Brexit

Debt would climb to almost 90% of national income for the first time since the mid 1960s

Government debt is set to rocket to levels not seen since the 1960s in the event of a no-deal Brexit, a leading economic think tank has warned.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said following last month's spending review, Government borrowing was on course to top £50 billion next year, more than double what the Office for Budget Responsibility was forecasting as recently as March.

However, in the event of even a "relatively benign" no-deal Brexit, the IFS said that could rise to almost £100 billion - while debt would climb to almost 90% of national income for the first time since the mid 1960s.

In its annual "green budget", the IFS warned that in those circumstances, next year's "mini boom" in public spending would be followed by another "bust" as ministers tried to get the public finances under control.

Analysis by Citi bank for the IFS calculated º£½ÇÊÓÆµ national income was already between £55 billion and £66 billion lower than it would have been if the country had voted Remain in the 2016 EU referendum.

As a result, Britain had missed out "almost entirely" on the bout in global growth of the last three years.

It warned that a no-deal Brexit was likely to mean two years of zero growth - even with a "substantial" fiscal and monetary response by the Government and the Bank of England.

Even when it returned to growth, it would remain weak at just 1.1%, leaving the economy 2.5% smaller than it would have been.