The UK government just paid the most it has ever paid to borrow long-term money since the Debt Management Office opened its doors in 1998. A gilt sale on September 8 saw yields on 30-year bonds climb to levels not witnessed in nearly three decades, a stark reminder that the era of cheap government borrowing is well and truly over.
The auction, a tap of the January 2056 gilt originally issued in May 2025, priced at yields roughly 0.75 to 1 basis point above the existing 2055 gilt. The sale was expected to raise up to £5 billion for the Treasury.
The numbers behind the pain
Long-dated gilt yields hit 5.89% in early September 2026, their highest point since 1998. The benchmark 10-year gilt has also surged past 5.2%, marking multi-year highs.
Britain isn’t suffering alone. A global bond sell-off has hammered sovereign debt markets from Washington to Tokyo. But the UK is feeling the squeeze more acutely because of its particular combination of high debt levels, sticky inflation, and a fiscal outlook that leaves little room for error.
