The history of UK debt

Who will buy government debt? What can history can teach us about the future of government finance?

Public debt is once again at the forefront of the economic and political debate. Following the shocks of the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, public indebtedness has risen sharply across advanced economies. With the end of the era of ultra-low interest rates, the cost of servicing these debts has become ever more pressing. In the UK, borrowing costs have increased, and the return of the “bond vigilantes” is putting government finances under sharper scrutiny.

At the same time, governments face unprecedented demands on public spending in the decades ahead - from financing the green energy transition to responding to rising geopolitical tensions and higher defence budgets. How will they meet these needs? Who will buy their bonds? And how can fiscal sustainability be achieved while preserving political and social stability?

This panel event explores what economic history can teach us about the future of government finance. Drawing on long-run perspectives on UK public debt, our speakers will reflect on past developments and policies to shed light on today’s challenges.

Meet our speakers and chair

Martin Slater, Emeritus Fellow in Economics at the University of Oxford and author of The National Debt: A Short History (Hurst, 2nd ed., 2025), will examine the long-run evolution of the UK public debt from medieval times to the present and offer insights for its future trajectory.

Norma Cohen, Research Fellow at Queen Mary University of London and author of How Britain Paid for War (Palgrave Macmillan, forthcoming), will discuss how the UK government financed the First World War and what lessons this holds for today.

This event will provide insights into the current debate on public debt management and the dilemma of sustaining government debt while responding to major economic and political challenges.

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