Umunna slams economically incompetent Tories

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Chuka Umunna has slammed the Tories for "economic incompetence" as new official borrowing figures show the deficit rising in June.   The Public Sector Finances bulletin, published this morning by the Office for National Statistics, shows that public sector net borrowing in June 2019 was £7.2 billion - £3.8 billion higher than in June 2018 and the largest June deficit since 2015.   In his Spring Statement in March, the Chancellor said the Government would borrow £29.3 billion in 2019-20, but it has already borrowed £17.9 billion in the first quarter alone. Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Chuka Umunna MP said:   “After breaking their pledge to eliminate the deficit by 2025 the Tories are on track to miss their own borrowing target for this year too. What more evidence do we need of their economic incompetence?   "The new Tory leadership fails to grasp that it’s simply not possible to spend more, reduce borrowing and cut taxes – all while crashing the country out of the EU. That move alone will cost our public coffers billions.   “The Liberal Democrats have consistently been the only voice calling for realistic, responsible borrowing to unlock funding for our public services. But this hinges on a stable economy. Our priority will be to safeguard this stability by stopping Brexit, and ending the Tories’ catastrophic management of our finances.”