Reeves is still only getting part of the Brexit message

The financial markets, and much of the media, seem obsessed by the level of public sector debt and borrowing.

- William Keegan

But, by international standards, the UK is hardly an excessive borrower. The average maturity of government stock – gilt-edged – is 14 years, twice the average of comparable advanced economies. As it happens, gilts are in great demand.

I recently drew attention to the distinction made by Mario Draghi, former president of the European Central Bank, between “good debt” and “bad debt”. Good debt is incurred for financing physical investment and infrastructure, the importance of which has been stressed repeatedly by Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves. Bad debt? We won't go into that.

In which context it may be appropriate to remind readers amid all the tributes – not being made by me – to Mrs Thatcher (born 100 years ago) that she got her “household” economics hopelessly wrong by not appreciating the distinction between day-to-day spending and long-term borrowing. Worriers about debt may like to note that the UK did not finish repaying debts incurred during the first world war until 2015 and from the second world war until 2006.