Brexit widens United Kingdom budget deficit

Britain posted a larger-than-expected budget deficit last month as government spending rose, a reminder that the country’s next finance minister may have limited options to cushion any Brexit blow to the economy.

The budget deficit widened to £5.115bn (€5.7bn), the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, a 23% rise from May 2018 and above all forecasts. For the first two months of the 2019/20 financial year, the deficit was 18% larger than a year earlier at just under £12bn.