BRITISH households’ outgoings outstripped their income last year for the first time since Margaret Thatcher held power, according to statistics published today.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that, on average, each British household spent £900 more than they received last year.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said that the findings, coming in “the same week the Tory government delivered a slap in the face to workers over public-sector pay,” revealed the “disastrous impact of eight years of austerity on the living standards of families.
 
“For the first time in nearly 30 years, we see average household outgoings surpassing incomes,” he noted.