{
  "id": 9307070,
  "title": "Burnham ally Jim O’Neill: Debt costs are ‘increasingly crazy’ and triple lock must go",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/burnham-ally-jim-oneill-debt-costs-are-increasingly-crazy-and-triple",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-23T08:48:28.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/burnham-ally-jim-oneill-debt-costs-are-increasingly-crazy-and-triple-lock-must-go/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Lord Jim O'Neill, a former Goldman Sachs executive and adviser to Andy Burnham in his bid for Downing Street, has described the cost of UK government debt interest payments as \"increasingly crazy.\" The economist expressed his concerns to LBC, stating that debt interest costs have far exceeded the defense budget. O'Neill sent a warning to Prime Minister on high borrowing levels, highlighting that the UK government has paid over £200 billion in debt interest costs since Labour's election in 2024. The figure is unsustainable, O'Neill claimed, pointing out that Western governments engaged in significant spending following the 2008 financial crisis and during the COVID-19 pandemic, with minimal effort to correct the situation. He argued that there's no such thing as a free lunch.\n\nThe government is projected to spend about £110 billion this year on debt interest costs, which is expected to rise to £137 billion in the coming years. O'Neill urged Burnham to consider scrapping the triple lock pension, which ensures that the state pension rises by whichever is higher out of inflation, wage growth, or 2.5 percent. He argued that it is challenging for the Conservatives to oppose an announcement to end the triple lock, accusing policymakers of \"playing this game\" in appealing to voters with big policies at the expense of others.\n\nThe IMF's managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, echoed O'Neill's sentiments, warning governments about the urgent need to reduce steep levels of debt following a market rout that sent bond yields soaring. She emphasized the political difficulty of taking the necessary steps, but stressed that they are necessary. O'Neill also opposed a capital gains tax hike, citing the risk of stunting investment in startups. In a different interview, he criticized Burnham's \"growth in every postcode\" slogan, suggesting that the best way to achieve growth across all regions is to lower 10-year UK gilt yields by 150 basis points, which would lead to lower mortgage rates.",
  "summary": "The cost to taxpayers of paying off the interest on UK government debt is “increasingly crazy”, according to a top economist who advised Andy Burnham. Lord Jim O’Neill, the former Goldman Sachs executive who advised Burnham in his run-up to Downing Street, told LBC that debit interest payments far outweighing the defence budget were “increasingly [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}