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Cash-strapped households are taking on debt at the fastest pace in 33 years

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Cite

Rojas, J. P. F. (2026, September 29). Cash-strapped households are taking on debt at the fastest pace in 33 years. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16170959/cash-strapped-households-debt-fastest-pace-33-years.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Daily Mail · collected 2026-09-29 · by John-Paul Ford Rojas

Quick Summary

Households are borrowing at the fastest rate since 1993, according to Bank of England figures, as they use credit cards and unsecured loans to manage rising costs like energy bills and fuel prices. Consumer borrowing increased by £2.46 billion last month, with credit card lending alone jumping by £1.18 billion—the highest since 2004. The article highlights the financial strain on workers, noting that only 35% can afford extras after covering necessities, down from 45% a year ago.
Written by AI on 2026-09-29, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Cash-strapped households are taking on debt at the fastest pace in over three decades, with £2.46 billion borrowed last month according to Bank of England figures. This includes a significant increase in credit card lending by £1.18 billion, the highest since 2004. The surge in borrowing reflects consumers' efforts to maintain spending amid rising energy and fuel costs that are squeezing their finances. A PwC survey indicates that only 35% of workers can afford non-essential expenses after covering bills and essentials, down from 45% a year ago, while 59% feel job strain due to cost pressures. This situation poses a major challenge for Prime Minister Andy Burnham as he addresses the cost-of-living crisis.

Written for “Household Debt Increase” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Household Debt Increase
Economy/Business · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 16% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Bulwark
Hedges 0 of 4 claims
“The articles discuss different aspects of economic conditions, with Article A focusing on higher mortgage rates and Trump's efforts to address them, while Article B focuses on UK households taking on debt at a record pace.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 1 of 53 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles discuss different topics: one focuses on interest rate increases and political commentary, while the other reports on household debt levels and borrowing trends.”
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this Hedges 6 of 41 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of financial impacts on households and do not describe the same specific incident or outcome.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
⚖️ Leans right further right than this Hedges 1 of 23 claims Outlet record 61/100
“The articles describe different aspects of household financial stress and borrowing behavior in general but do not report on the same specific incident or occurrence.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
16%
3 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
69/100
Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Economy/Business
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-29 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 8805 article(s) · 22 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 22 correction(s)

Who wrote this

John-Paul Ford Rojas
10 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 It was claimed that the Chancellor was only able to meet fiscal targets by pencilling in billions of pounds in spending cuts that few believe will take place. And the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said the outlook for public finances would have looked even worse if it had factored in the most recent increases in global oil and gas costs.
🔮 Families face getting poorer over the next two years as they are squeezed by the rising cost of living and higher taxes according to ‘grim’ Budget forecasts.
🔮 New analysis by accounting giant EY suggests the Chancellor’s borrowing headache will go from bad to worse unless the Strait of Hormuz is reopened to oil and gas shipments.
🔮 Billionaires with £120billion to their names have fled high-tax Britain since Labour came to power and there could be worse to come, analysis has revealed.
🔮 The rise in UK borrowing costs has continued unabated since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister, despite his repeated insistence that he will stick to fiscal rules that oblige the government to target lower borrowing and debt.
🔮 It means that the Treasury is paying a higher rate of interest to the investors who finance the UK government – which will make it harder for Mr Burnham’s chancellor to make the sums add when he delivers next month’s Budget.
🔮 Matt Swannell, chief economic adviser to forecaster ITEM Club, said the Bank of England data represented 'tentative evidence that people are using credit to lean against the squeeze on household spending power'.
🔮 The report warns that without action, jobs will be lost too quickly for them to be replaced by new roles in the renewables industry such as wind farms.
🔮 - See more This is Money on Google - save us as a Preferred Source The Bank of England yesterday stood its ground as the last major central bank to resist interest rate increases despite growing inflation pressures. Governor Andrew Bailey signalled a hike could be on the way but fought shy of taking action for now – even after counterparts in the US and Europe did so. It came as the Bank plans to pause its sales of UK bonds in a move that surprised markets and lowered Government borrowing costs.
🔮 Without a plan for tax hikes and spending cuts of around £40billion, they will 'inherit the mortgage without the house', the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said.
Also by John-Paul Ford Rojas
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 10 articles by John-Paul Ford Rojas →

Topics

Bank of England Daily Mail ITEM Club Pantheon Macroeconomics PwC

Subjects

Bank of England ORG · 2× Andy Burnham PERSON · 1× Daily Mail ORG · 1× ITEM Club ORG · 1× KPMG UK ORG · 1× Katie Clinton PERSON · 1× Matt Swannell PERSON · 1× Pantheon Macroeconomics ORG · 1× PwC ORG · 1× Rob Wood PERSON · 1×

Narrative

The poll from accountants PwC also revealed 59 per cent were feeling under strain in their jobs as a result of the costs squeeze - as they faced increased stress levels, working longer hours or wanting to change jobs as a result.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-29
🔮 Matt Swannell, chief economic adviser to forecaster ITEM Club, said the Bank of England data represented 'tentative evidence that people are using credit to lean against the squeeze on household spending power'.

Claims (19 extracted, 3 hedged)

- See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Cash-strapped households are taking on debt at the fastest pace in more than three decades as they turn to credit cards and unsecured loans to make ends meet. asserted
ends → see → cards
Bank of England figures showed consumer borrowing jumped by £2.46billion last month - the biggest increase on records going back to 1993. asserted
borrowing → show → 1993
The sum includes car finance and personal loans as well as credit card lending, which went up by £1.18billion - the fastest pace since 2004. asserted
which → include → 2004
It suggests that consumers are ramping up borrowing to fuel spending as the surge in energy bills and fuel prices leaves them with less spare cash at the end of the month. And the figures underline the challenge that is facing Prime Minister Andy Burnham as he seeks to tackle the increase in the cost of living. uncertain
he → suggest → living
A separate survey showed just 35 per cent of workers can afford savings, holidays and other extras after paying for bills and essentials, down from 45 per cent a year ago. asserted
cent → show → cent
The poll from accountants PwC also revealed 59 per cent were feeling under strain in their jobs as a result of the costs squeeze - as they faced increased stress levels, working longer hours or wanting to change jobs as a result. asserted
they → reveal → result
It found workers were also worried about the impact of economic volatility and the rise of AI on their jobs. asserted
workers → find → jobs
Cash-strapped households are taking on debt at the fastest pace in more than three decades as they turn to credit cards and unsecured loans to make ends meet (file image) asserted
ends → strap → cards
Matt Swannell, chief economic adviser to forecaster ITEM Club, said the Bank of England data represented 'tentative evidence that people are using credit to lean against the squeeze on household spending power'. asserted
people → say → power
And Rob Wood, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, a consultancy, said a rise in household borrowing as well as lower saving was helping them 'smooth through' the drag on their finances caused by higher energy bills. asserted
them → say → bills
Katie Clinton, financial services adviser at accountants KPMG UK, suggested the rise in consumer borrowing may on the other hand reflect optimism about improvement in personal finances and economic conditions to come. uncertain
rise → suggest → finances
'However, with persistently high inflation squeezing disposable incomes, stronger borrowing may also reflect continued affordability challenges pushing people to credit to get by,' she added. uncertain
she → squeeze → credit
Mr Burnham has pledged to give 'breathing space' to households with policies such as removing VAT on energy bills and cheaper bus fares. asserted
Burnham → pledge → bills
But the policies have been dwarfed by the impact of Donald Trump's Iran war, which has choked off oil and gas supplies from the Middle East, driving up prices and feeding global inflation. asserted
which → dwarf → inflation
Motorists are already paying record prices for diesel while energy prices will on Thursday climb to a three-year high with the introduction of a new price cap. asserted
prices → pay → cap
Bills are widely expected to soar again in January when the next cap comes into effect - with the Bank of England predicting a 24 per cent rise. asserted
Bank → expect → rise
Meanwhile, drought-hit harvests and the El Nino global weather phenomenon are expected to result in higher food prices. asserted
harvests → hit → prices
By the start of next year, overall inflation is expected to top 4 per cent - twice the Bank of England's 2 per cent target. asserted
inflation → expect → England
And that is expected to mean increasing pain for borrowers, with markets predicting that the Bank will raise interest rates four times by the end of next year as it battles to subdue inflation. asserted
it → expect → inflation
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