Water level tracks progress through financial year 2026–27 · 0% complete
Official ONS figures for the financial year ending March 2025. Warm regions recorded a deficit; blue regions recorded a surplus.
UK total: £151.8bn deficit. Net fiscal balance is annual public expenditure minus public revenue allocated to each region. It is a flow, not a regional share of sovereign debt.
Monthly public sector net debt excluding public sector banks as a share of GDP. Coloured bands mark each Prime Minister's administration; move across the curve for the month-by-month reading.
Change in public sector net debt excluding public sector banks during each premiership, using the comparable ONS HF6W monthly series from 1997 and the same OBR interpolation for the current period.
These figures measure the change in the debt stock between handover dates. They are estimates based on linearly interpolated month-end observations, not a claim that every change was caused by the named Prime Minister. Values can also be revised by the ONS.
This clock estimates UK public sector net debt (excluding public sector banks — PSND ex) by interpolating between official published data points. The number shown is not a real-time government ledger. It is a live interpolation based on official outturn and forecast data.
ONS public sector net debt excluding public sector banks, end May 2026: £2,984.3bn — equivalent to 95.1% of GDP. Recent public finance estimates are provisional and revised as better data becomes available.
| 2026–27 | £3,053bn |
| 2027–28 | £3,191bn |
| 2028–29 | £3,319bn |
| 2029–30 | £3,427bn |
| 2030–31 | £3,514bn |
From the May 2026 outturn to the OBR's 2026–27 forecast, debt rises £68.7bn over 304 days — approximately £2,616 per second, £9.42m per hour, £226.0m per day. The tick rate is calculated from these data points, never hardcoded.
The additional counter subtracts the modelled debt level at 11:00 BST on 20 July 2026, the time baseline used for Andy Burnham becoming Prime Minister, from the current modelled total. It therefore shows estimated debt accumulated since that reset point, not borrowing directly recorded against an individual government. This clock uses forecast interpolation rather than an intraday government ledger.
Premiership opening debt levels are calculated by linear interpolation between the surrounding month-end observations in the ONS HF6W series, “Public sector net debt excluding public sector banks: £bn”. Each completed premiership closes at the successor's opening estimate, so the handovers reconcile without gaps or overlaps. Andy Burnham's row remains live against the current ONS/OBR model.
The curve uses the ONS HF6X monthly series, “Public sector net debt excluding public sector banks as a percentage of GDP”, from May 1997 onward. Administration bands provide political-period context; they do not attribute every movement to the serving Prime Minister. Very short administrations are shown with a minimum-width marker so they remain visible, while the timeline and debt curve retain their true date scale.
The map uses ONS Country and Regional Public Sector Finances for the financial year ending March 2025, published 26 May 2026. Values are the net fiscal balance including North Sea oil and gas revenues allocated geographically. A positive value is a deficit and a negative value is a surplus. Regional balances are annual flows and must not be interpreted as regional sovereign debt.