In 2008 the UK deficit was around £10Bn - in 2010 it had reached around £100Bn.
I realise this was due to the "global recession" but exactly why did the deficit grow so much?
My understanding is the deficit is the UK Treasury income less expenditure, so did income drop (and why) or did expenditure increase and again, why?
I imagine the recession would show a reduction in tax receipts but £100Bn seems excessive and also there may be some increased borrowing leading to increased debt payments but again the figures seem huge.
Was it the bank bail-outs to blame?
My data is from here.
Finally is austerity likely to return the UK treasury to surplus given that there is a finite amount of spending that can realistically be cut?