HC Deb 26 January 1988 vol 126 c153W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the correlation between interest rates and the public sector borrowing requirement from 1979 to 1987.

Mr. Major

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor has made no estimate. United Kingdom interest rates are influenced by numerous factors including interest rates abroad, inflationary expectations, financial innovation and private sector borrowing, in addition to public sector borrowing. Consequently, simple correlations between interest rates and the public sector borrowing requirement are uninformative.